The table with gun-related deaths statistics that you link to does not prove that total gun ban in the UK works.
The Netherlands, where gun ownership IS LEGAL, is on the bottom of the list with 0.7 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people, very close to England's 0.45 (compare that to USA's 14.24 deaths per 100,000 people).
What acts are war crimes? War crimes are defined by the Geneva Conventions, the precedents of the Nuremberg Tribunals, an older area of law referred to as the Laws and Customs of War, and, in the case of the former Yugoslavia, the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague (ICTY).
War crimes fall into three groups - or four if you include genocide.
Crimes against peace
* planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances
* participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the above
War crimes Violations of the laws or customs of war, including:
* Atrocities or offences against persons or property, constituting violations of the laws or customs of war
* murder, ill treatment or deportation to slave labour or for any other purpose of the civilian population in occupied territory
* murder or ill treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas...
Knowing how stretched the police is here in the UK, why not introduce amature law enforcement? Anyone who sees crime taking place on TV should be allowed to get from the sofa, go to the crime scene and beat the living shit out of the bastards.
As a criminal, I'd be scared to death knowing that 80 thousand people are coming my way right now carrying pitchforks, ropes and tubes of vaseline.
Think of the health benefits for coach potatos!
To avoid the system misuse, we may borrow from Slashdot. Each citizen will be issued a gun with 5 bullets from time to time and...well, you know how it works. There will also be a team of forensics doing meta-moderation.
In time, we may completely abolish police and judicial system, since every crime will be on tape. People could vote the least simpathetic criminal out with their remote control etc. etc...
...plowed over by a larger company whose owners screwed people over so they could gain obscene wealth.
You'll be surprised, my friend, but those "large companies" are mostly owned by pension funds.
Now, here is a question for you.
Should a pension fund support the decision to send 1000 jobs to India if this would increase shareholders' value?
Suppose your future pension is in that fund. How would you feel if the fund manager took money from your pocket and gave it to those poor underpaid US workers?
Re:56 april fools in one day
on
EU to Ban Macs
·
· Score: 2, Funny
I got moderator points on April the 1st, of all days. This is not funny...
politicians who get paid to pimp for the studios and labels
Politicians are get paid to whore for the studios and labels (they provide favours in return for money). Arguably, the studios and labels are not pimping either. They are paying customers.
Anyone else had any interesting encounters with those people?
Back in my student years, I once got stuck in Amsterdam without money in the summer and was looking for some work. I've just came from Russia and Amsterdam was my first Western city.
First of all, I got angry at our communists back home for forbidding simple pleasures that the West was taking for granted: topless sunbathing in parks, bars with marijuana menu and red shop windows with nice girls on display. So I was determined to get a proper local job and integrate in this advanced society.
I went on a busy central street and started knocking on doors of offices and restaurants. The first office I came across turned out to be very friendly. They took me upstairs to the floor that looked like a library, except they had only one book with a volcano on the cover.
A very nice guy interviewed me and asked to fill some forms. I spent almost an hour filling a long questionnaire. Obviously, I've done my best to produce a good impression at my first job interview. But when the guy looked at my answers he became very worried. He took out a pencil and connected some dots on a piece of paper to draw something like a cardiograph chart.
"Look here, - he said. - You have a definite problem with self-esteem and ambition. If you don't do something about this right now, you'll lose everything in this life".
I was horrified. OK, I just came from Russia with a guitar and a hundred dollars in a pocket, but ambition could not be my weakest point! In fact, that was all I had then... Still, the first job interview revealed me as being totally unfit for this new life...
I declined the company's offer of courses and training to boost my self-esteem and went to a nearby coffieshop completely devastated. I was seriously thinking of giving it up and going back to Russia. Thankfully, after a while the reality started to look different...
With this new iPod Apple could target movie downloaders. The most common format for a movie is mpeg4-encoded file. A 700MB file containing 1.5 hour movie looks not much worse than DVD on TV screen; and if you spread it over 2 CDs it's almost DVD quality. You can fit almost 100 movies on 60GB hard drive.
Now, many of newer DVD players today can play mpeg4 movies encoded with popular codecs such as DivX and Xvid.
So, iPod will have video-out? Great news. It should alsom inclode those codecs and a player (QuickTime?) to become a portable video device!
You could download collection of movies from you PC on 60GB drive and go visit friends or maybe go on holiday... And play movies anywhere where there is a TV. Apple could grab a hude chunk of market from DVD players...
And then, if you get one of those ridiculous video goggles on... Who needs a TV or a cinema?
Not understanding role of ideology (religion) in the modern world is not going to help you.
In fact, islamic radicals took over civil government in Chechna during brief period of their full autonomy between 1996 and 1999, when Russian troops were withdrawn. The islamists introduced sharia laws and tried to start religious uprising in neighbouring muslim Dagestan. Which prompted Moscow to attach Chechnia for the second time.
It looks like islamists are using nationalist argument to win support of the West. Their actual goal to establish a mulsim state throughout the Caucasus.
From the article: But where is all this going? Ah yes, the famous Commoditization of Software. So all software will be free in the future, simply because it will be dominated by Open Source and free software. But who is going to pay for it all? You can't develop in a vacuum, *somebody* has to pay the developers. It seems to me that the only way to do it is for all the Open Source developers to be working at large companies, with the large companies paying a salary for the developer to work on the Open Source project for some portion of their time. That's fine, I have no problem with that concept, but it's *not* "free". The software is effectively being supported by the charity of corporations.
Where did he see charity? "Big corporations" support open source software because they __use__ open source software. They pay for development and get benefits.
What he does complain about, I think, is that software development has stopped to be a "cottage industry" from which a single developer could make a living.
It is true - for each trivial piece of commercial software there will appear an open source alternative. And complex software is...well, complex and requires more man/hours than a single developer can provide.
There are exception, though. Nick Bradbury makes a living out his two retail applications: TopStyle and FeedDemon. Both have open source equivalents, but each is an excellent pieces of software and the best in its class.
You've forgot to mention that elected politicians would not initiate hostilities without support of the population. What is an easy way to get reelected? A short and victorious war. Never asked yourself why does this trick work every time?
I don't believe politicians start wars. People do.
Hitler was voted to power. Germans felt incredibly humiliated after WWI, hyperinflation, reparations etc. And they voted-in a demagogue who told them that they are great just because they belong to German race.
It's the nature of democracy. Power of people can easlity turn into power of the mob. So, now as ever, warmonger politicians are just trying to please the voter.
This is a great myth that government programs pulled US out of recession in the 30s. In fact, it was dramatic depreciation of US dollar against Gold that did the trick. Combined with legal prohibition to own gold. So, that was it. Americans became much poorer (in gold terms) overnight. And therefore more competitive.
As to internet, here is another example. In France, there has been an internet-like system called Minitel fully operational and used by many since 80s. Nothing came out of it. The internet really took off because it was based on open standards and because private sector _extended_ the academic network. Think of all AOLers piling-in... Yes, that was not pleasant for original internet denizens, but that was the beginnin of real internet, as we know it.
What US gov't is doing today is trying to drag economy out of recession through government spending (think war on terror and surveilance cameras that are being made for every street). This will lead to dollar devaluation and quite dramatic wealth destruction. Then US economy will become competitive again.
There is hardly any credit to the government. It's our money that they spend. We can do it ourselves, almost always better.
Slashdot Mirror
lawsuits is the third.
Power users just use command line.
The table with gun-related deaths statistics that you link to does not prove that total gun ban in the UK works.
The Netherlands, where gun ownership IS LEGAL, is on the bottom of the list with 0.7 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people, very close to England's 0.45 (compare that to USA's 14.24 deaths per 100,000 people).
US has initiated a war of agression against Iraq. This was called a crime by United States and its allies during Nuremberg Trial after WWII.
Some summary from, I guess, non-political source:
There is more at UN documents.
Knowing how stretched the police is here in the UK, why not introduce amature law enforcement? Anyone who sees crime taking place on TV should be allowed to get from the sofa, go to the crime scene and beat the living shit out of the bastards.
...well, you know how it works. There will also be a team of forensics doing meta-moderation.
As a criminal, I'd be scared to death knowing that 80 thousand people are coming my way right now carrying pitchforks, ropes and tubes of vaseline.
Think of the health benefits for coach potatos!
To avoid the system misuse, we may borrow from Slashdot. Each citizen will be issued a gun with 5 bullets from time to time and
In time, we may completely abolish police and judicial system, since every crime will be on tape. People could vote the least simpathetic criminal out with their remote control etc. etc...
Something between 'Extreme Linux' and 'Dumb Linux'?
> No, any competent economist....understands
You are wrong. Even competent economists don't understand anything. ;-)
> ...that trade deficits are completely irrelevant
CURRENCY SPECULATOR: You are so right! Go, spend more, babe! Don't mind the deficit and value of your currency.
...plowed over by a larger company whose owners screwed people over so they could gain obscene wealth.
You'll be surprised, my friend, but those "large companies" are mostly owned by pension funds.
Now, here is a question for you.
Should a pension fund support the decision to send 1000 jobs to India if this would increase shareholders' value?
Suppose your future pension is in that fund. How would you feel if the fund manager took money from your pocket and gave it to those poor underpaid US workers?
I got moderator points on April the 1st, of all days. This is not funny...
politicians who get paid to pimp for the studios and labels
Politicians are get paid to whore for the studios and labels (they provide favours in return for money). Arguably, the studios and labels are not pimping either. They are paying customers.
Anyone else had any interesting encounters with those people?
Back in my student years, I once got stuck in Amsterdam without money in the summer and was looking for some work. I've just came from Russia and Amsterdam was my first Western city.
First of all, I got angry at our communists back home for forbidding simple pleasures that the West was taking for granted: topless sunbathing in parks, bars with marijuana menu and red shop windows with nice girls on display. So I was determined to get a proper local job and integrate in this advanced society.
I went on a busy central street and started knocking on doors of offices and restaurants. The first office I came across turned out to be very friendly. They took me upstairs to the floor that looked like a library, except they had only one book with a volcano on the cover.
A very nice guy interviewed me and asked to fill some forms. I spent almost an hour filling a long questionnaire. Obviously, I've done my best to produce a good impression at my first job interview. But when the guy looked at my answers he became very worried. He took out a pencil and connected some dots on a piece of paper to draw something like a cardiograph chart.
"Look here, - he said. - You have a definite problem with self-esteem and ambition. If you don't do something about this right now, you'll lose everything in this life".
I was horrified. OK, I just came from Russia with a guitar and a hundred dollars in a pocket, but ambition could not be my weakest point! In fact, that was all I had then... Still, the first job interview revealed me as being totally unfit for this new life...
I declined the company's offer of courses and training to boost my self-esteem and went to a nearby coffieshop completely devastated. I was seriously thinking of giving it up and going back to Russia. Thankfully, after a while the reality started to look different...
Would any single game engine help you create your own Citizen Kane?
An actor?
With this new iPod Apple could target movie downloaders. The most common format for a movie is mpeg4-encoded file. A 700MB file containing 1.5 hour movie looks not much worse than DVD on TV screen; and if you spread it over 2 CDs it's almost DVD quality. You can fit almost 100 movies on 60GB hard drive.
Now, many of newer DVD players today can play mpeg4 movies encoded with popular codecs such as DivX and Xvid.
So, iPod will have video-out? Great news. It should alsom inclode those codecs and a player (QuickTime?) to become a portable video device!
You could download collection of movies from you PC on 60GB drive and go visit friends or maybe go on holiday... And play movies anywhere where there is a TV. Apple could grab a hude chunk of market from DVD players...
And then, if you get one of those ridiculous video goggles on... Who needs a TV or a cinema?
Not understanding role of ideology (religion) in the modern world is not going to help you.
In fact, islamic radicals took over civil government in Chechna during brief period of their full autonomy between 1996 and 1999, when Russian troops were withdrawn. The islamists introduced sharia laws and tried to start religious uprising in neighbouring muslim Dagestan. Which prompted Moscow to attach Chechnia for the second time.
It looks like islamists are using nationalist argument to win support of the West. Their actual goal to establish a mulsim state throughout the Caucasus.
He's also modded his Roomba with a built-in Webcam
Gives new angle to those dinner parties...
'Skype, a made-up term that rhymes with "tripe,"
It rhymes with 'hype' much better.
You will not be able to take your USB drive on business trips if you fly with hand luggage only.
Why music industry chose to kill Napster a few years go?
...included patent on a business method of "using silly patents for intimidation and extortion".
There should be consequences...
The only one unchanging pattern of the markets is presence of people trying to discover market patterns.
FSF should sue Penguin and get Tux's name back.
From the article: But where is all this going? Ah yes, the famous Commoditization of Software. So all software will be free in the future, simply because it will be dominated by Open Source and free software. But who is going to pay for it all? You can't develop in a vacuum, *somebody* has to pay the developers. It seems to me that the only way to do it is for all the Open Source developers to be working at large companies, with the large companies paying a salary for the developer to work on the Open Source project for some portion of their time. That's fine, I have no problem with that concept, but it's *not* "free". The software is effectively being supported by the charity of corporations.
...well, complex and requires more man/hours than a single developer can provide.
Where did he see charity? "Big corporations" support open source software because they __use__ open source software. They pay for development and get benefits.
What he does complain about, I think, is that software development has stopped to be a "cottage industry" from which a single developer could make a living.
It is true - for each trivial piece of commercial software there will appear an open source alternative. And complex software is
There are exception, though. Nick Bradbury makes a living out his two retail applications: TopStyle and FeedDemon. Both have open source equivalents, but each is an excellent pieces of software and the best in its class.
You've forgot to mention that elected politicians would not initiate hostilities without support of the population. What is an easy way to get reelected? A short and victorious war. Never asked yourself why does this trick work every time?
I don't believe politicians start wars. People do.
Hitler was voted to power. Germans felt incredibly humiliated after WWI, hyperinflation, reparations etc. And they voted-in a demagogue who told them that they are great just because they belong to German race.
It's the nature of democracy. Power of people can easlity turn into power of the mob. So, now as ever, warmonger politicians are just trying to please the voter.
Yes, let this expensive restaurant spam me as I walk by! Of course, I'll offer them to settle first ...that window table would be OK.
This is a great myth that government programs pulled US out of recession in the 30s. In fact, it was dramatic depreciation of US dollar against Gold that did the trick. Combined with legal prohibition to own gold. So, that was it. Americans became much poorer (in gold terms) overnight. And therefore more competitive.
As to internet, here is another example. In France, there has been an internet-like system called Minitel fully operational and used by many since 80s. Nothing came out of it. The internet really took off because it was based on open standards and because private sector _extended_ the academic network. Think of all AOLers piling-in... Yes, that was not pleasant for original internet denizens, but that was the beginnin of real internet, as we know it.
What US gov't is doing today is trying to drag economy out of recession through government spending (think war on terror and surveilance cameras that are being made for every street). This will lead to dollar devaluation and quite dramatic wealth destruction. Then US economy will become competitive again.
There is hardly any credit to the government. It's our money that they spend. We can do it ourselves, almost always better.