From TFA: "This legislation defines as aggressive every audiovisual material promoting and inciting violence, the use of weapons and toys imitating weapons or stimulating violence and hate."
So... next time a pack of 2nd graders make toy guns from sticks and play "soldiers" in a vacant lot, they'll all go to jail??
My long-ago lawyer once told me that, especially when the trial is about something most people know nothing about, generally a judge trial is preferable, because "then you only have to convince one ignorant idiot, instead of having to convince 12 ignorant idiots".
I haven't sat on a jury but I've been rejected for jury duty a few times, and all too often the old saw reflects reality. I did notice that there is active selection toward people who DON'T think too long, too hard, or too much.:(
BTW good for your mom, an honest woman of her convictions.
So is there any reason we can't have "Judge nullification" on the same principle??
I seem to recall that there have been a few cases in civil court, where a Judge threw out a big judgment as being patently unfair or even outright insane.
Actually, punk is much more complex than that. Some of it is shock-rock, but some is actually quite "soft-spoken", and it's more a theme (which is fundamentally "do your own thing the best you're able, even if your best sucks" which is why even crappy voices can do well at it) than a style. -- It is more likely to have a structure that builds on itself than were other rock forms, and which expects more than just passive listening, and that's what I'm talking about that makes it more akin to classical than to mainstream rock. -- I think this is why out of all the rock subgenres that have come and gone over the decades, punk has had the most endurance.
Pretty much what some trance and industrial artists do, now that you mention it -- and for that matter, Robert Fripp in the early days of tape experiments. Start with something, add tiny increments here while removing something else there, and eventually you're in a whole different place. This thematic growth is, as you say, often absent in popular music.
Conversely, I'm reminded of one particular country song that uses the same twang-thwang chord pair throughout, but continually adds and subtracts small variations around it, so the interactions change as it goes along, rather than the theme.
As to the nominal topic, I agree that the probable deterrent is the uncoolness of being seen "listening" to that grup stuff. A generation from now, being seen listening to the Stones might be just as uncool.
When I was a kid/teen, I didn't like rock, other than some of the softer stuff. I preferred classical, mainly heavy pieces like Beethoven symphonies, but I played it REALLY LOUD.
I've been known to contend that punk is structually descended from classical, not from rock... and now that I'm middle-aged, I mostly listen to darkwave and industrial (much of which has heavy texturing akin to Beethoven). So I guess I still have the same taste, just tuned to a different set of performers.;)
Some people are so anal-retentive that they just can't deal with an "invasion" of their personal space by something as disorderly as spam. So rather than deal with their own psych issues, they inflict 'em on the rest of us.
Yeah, spam sucks; yeah, spammers should die horribly. But that doesn't mean everyone else should be forced to suffer MORE spam (or in some cases, a very real fear of exercising free speech) so that some people can have an utterly orderly universe.
My solution is to determine who is hosting the abusive domain (just look up the netblock owner on netcraft, that's usually good enough), then complain to the web host. So far it's worked every time, and I don't need to know the domain owner's name, contact info, or anything else about 'em.
Banks did it a long time ago (tho a lot of those went away when one of the grocery chains died). It was convenient and worked well enough for any purpose that only needed a teller's services. I don't see why a postal outlet couldn't do the same thing. Even if it were just a postage machine (the kind with a scale) and PO Boxes, and maybe the returns clerk being also empowered to handle stuff like certified mail -- I'm sure any store with the room would welcome a small share of the box rent (at a cost of a bit of foyer space and nothing out of pocket), and better still, the fact that it would guarantee bringing the boxholders into the store on a regular basis. Only snag I can think of is building lease agreements that might view this as an unpermitted sublease, or (as is the case with some SoCal store leases) would demand a share of the gross (yes, they take part of your gross, not net).
Saturday may have the highest volume, but it doesn't have the legal issue of being a business day, on which bills fall due. And that's the big problem I see.
Another is that a lot of branch post offices are closed entirely *including the box lobby* when no employees are present. This will impose a hardship on business that needs to pick up and/or send mail every business day. Effectively, it puts anyone dependent on mail OUT of business for that day, and that can be enough to kill marginal outfits.
I've seen a few that I want to keep in office (the good ones are often very good -- we have one locally that we keep kicking upstairs rather than lose him to term limits), but unfortunately they aren't the norm. And the higher they climb, the further they get from the real wants and needs of their constituency, and then you get things like that senator (I forget who it was offhand) who said flat out that he would "vote against the wishes of his district".
The health care reform bill is sure helping identify those congresscritters who think that way, regardless of what they *say* -- since most are still trying to push it through despite the bill having only something like 25% popular support. Regardless of your stance on the bill, does that sound like they are *representing the will of the people*??
Can't argue with that. Tho it's not so much Dems and Reps bussing the voters of their choice to the polls, as it is unions, tho unions have historically been Dems. (And when I've poll-watched, I did note that all the dead voters were Dems.) And the "I believe" without anything to back it up has likewise mostly been a Dem thing, in my observation (and not just mine; look up "Yellow Dog Democrat"). More Reps are skeptical or suspicious of ALL candidates until proven, including their own, and you'll find more Reps who will vote against party lines too.
Name recognition is probably the most effective of all advertising strategies, be that for consumer products or political office. Most people will indeed vote for the name they know even if that's ALL they know about the candidate. In Calif there's another aspect to that "vote for the familiar name": the hispanic vote will go en mass for the hispanic-sounding name, no matter what the candidate's actual ethnicity. I'd guess this is even more of a problem in countries with a village culture and/or limited literacy.
So, yeah, I agree -- voting should be informed choice, not blind duty (tho one might argue that as a voter, it is your *duty* to become so informed). And for myself, if I don't like any of the candidates or don't/can't learn what I feel I need to about 'em -- I'd rather withhold my vote.
I wouldn't call it emotional. I don't know anyone who's attached to the penny; I know a lot of stores that would gleefully raise prices by that one cent and hope no one noticed, and that sort of thing adds up, especially if you're poor.
Dropping delivery on a weekday is a really bad idea. Timebound stuff like bills and legal documents are never obligated for weekend time, but they ARE obligated for every weekday (that 10 days you get to pay or respond is counted in business days only). If they have to drop a day, Saturday makes more sense.
As to dropping low-performing branch offices, sometimes those are the only one convenient to a neighbourhood. I know if mine were closed, I'd have to drive considerably out of my way in much worse traffic, AND still drive to the old location because that's where the bank etc. are located. Hardly an emotional thing; it would cost me time and money regularly, a great deal more than would a few more cents more in postage.
I do have to wonder how much the partnership with Fedex actually costs, ie. whether it actually saves USPS anything or if it just dilutes revenues, since after all the same parcel delivery rate now has to be split between them. I also am reminded that a sharp decline in USPS speed and reliability happened about 2007ish, and wonder if that's related to their revenue drop. Much as folks like to rag on USPS, they'd always been THE fastest and most reliable, with the least parcel damage enroute, and every independent test I've seen confirmed that. For contrast, send a few things via Canada Post... it's much better/faster than it used to be, but still often gnaws the merchandise.
Definitely a problem:( And yet another reason why we need that "One Thing At A Time" bill passed. Of course, that'll never happen -- would cost too many special interests too much pork!!
[eyeing chart] Looks to me like the big problems were more due to declining revenue across the decade, and a sudden jump in "Retiree health benefits". "Total operating expenses" (which presumably includes fuel) increased, sure, but had been increasing all along. There's even a footnote about the retiree benefits being an excess cost in 2007.
Good point. Other works of IP "owned" by the government are by definition public domain (frex, NASA's space photos); why should art be any different?? I'd think it would be akin to a work-for-hire in the private sector -- you get paid for your work, and that's the end of your lawful interest in it.
I'd want to see a good ratio of beneficial to negative. After all if a politician promoted 3 good bills and 50 bad ones, that's not much of a recommendation.
I've seen it too. What I remember was that some hapless taxi driver would be told "follow that car" then when it split and the driver had to decide which to follow, the hidden camera would record his reaction, as seen from the back seat. As I recall the range of reactions went from lame excuses to outright panic.
If you have children, consider this: Do you really want your children to grow up into a world constrained by Stalinist laws, even if said laws are passed to "think of the children" in the present??
IOW: Is it worth saving the children now, only to destroy their future??
"You should not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered."
-- Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the U.S.
Slashdot Mirror
So... next time a pack of 2nd graders make toy guns from sticks and play "soldiers" in a vacant lot, they'll all go to jail??
My long-ago lawyer once told me that, especially when the trial is about something most people know nothing about, generally a judge trial is preferable, because "then you only have to convince one ignorant idiot, instead of having to convince 12 ignorant idiots".
I haven't sat on a jury but I've been rejected for jury duty a few times, and all too often the old saw reflects reality. I did notice that there is active selection toward people who DON'T think too long, too hard, or too much. :(
BTW good for your mom, an honest woman of her convictions.
So is there any reason we can't have "Judge nullification" on the same principle??
I seem to recall that there have been a few cases in civil court, where a Judge threw out a big judgment as being patently unfair or even outright insane.
Actually, punk is much more complex than that. Some of it is shock-rock, but some is actually quite "soft-spoken", and it's more a theme (which is fundamentally "do your own thing the best you're able, even if your best sucks" which is why even crappy voices can do well at it) than a style. -- It is more likely to have a structure that builds on itself than were other rock forms, and which expects more than just passive listening, and that's what I'm talking about that makes it more akin to classical than to mainstream rock. -- I think this is why out of all the rock subgenres that have come and gone over the decades, punk has had the most endurance.
Your ears and perceptions may vary. :)
Pretty much what some trance and industrial artists do, now that you mention it -- and for that matter, Robert Fripp in the early days of tape experiments. Start with something, add tiny increments here while removing something else there, and eventually you're in a whole different place. This thematic growth is, as you say, often absent in popular music.
Conversely, I'm reminded of one particular country song that uses the same twang-thwang chord pair throughout, but continually adds and subtracts small variations around it, so the interactions change as it goes along, rather than the theme.
As to the nominal topic, I agree that the probable deterrent is the uncoolness of being seen "listening" to that grup stuff. A generation from now, being seen listening to the Stones might be just as uncool.
I got it all backwards.
When I was a kid/teen, I didn't like rock, other than some of the softer stuff. I preferred classical, mainly heavy pieces like Beethoven symphonies, but I played it REALLY LOUD.
I've been known to contend that punk is structually descended from classical, not from rock... and now that I'm middle-aged, I mostly listen to darkwave and industrial (much of which has heavy texturing akin to Beethoven). So I guess I still have the same taste, just tuned to a different set of performers. ;)
Oho, very good, very good indeed :D
Some people are so anal-retentive that they just can't deal with an "invasion" of their personal space by something as disorderly as spam. So rather than deal with their own psych issues, they inflict 'em on the rest of us.
Yeah, spam sucks; yeah, spammers should die horribly. But that doesn't mean everyone else should be forced to suffer MORE spam (or in some cases, a very real fear of exercising free speech) so that some people can have an utterly orderly universe.
My solution is to determine who is hosting the abusive domain (just look up the netblock owner on netcraft, that's usually good enough), then complain to the web host. So far it's worked every time, and I don't need to know the domain owner's name, contact info, or anything else about 'em.
Banks did it a long time ago (tho a lot of those went away when one of the grocery chains died). It was convenient and worked well enough for any purpose that only needed a teller's services. I don't see why a postal outlet couldn't do the same thing. Even if it were just a postage machine (the kind with a scale) and PO Boxes, and maybe the returns clerk being also empowered to handle stuff like certified mail -- I'm sure any store with the room would welcome a small share of the box rent (at a cost of a bit of foyer space and nothing out of pocket), and better still, the fact that it would guarantee bringing the boxholders into the store on a regular basis. Only snag I can think of is building lease agreements that might view this as an unpermitted sublease, or (as is the case with some SoCal store leases) would demand a share of the gross (yes, they take part of your gross, not net).
Saturday may have the highest volume, but it doesn't have the legal issue of being a business day, on which bills fall due. And that's the big problem I see.
Another is that a lot of branch post offices are closed entirely *including the box lobby* when no employees are present. This will impose a hardship on business that needs to pick up and/or send mail every business day. Effectively, it puts anyone dependent on mail OUT of business for that day, and that can be enough to kill marginal outfits.
I've seen a few that I want to keep in office (the good ones are often very good -- we have one locally that we keep kicking upstairs rather than lose him to term limits), but unfortunately they aren't the norm. And the higher they climb, the further they get from the real wants and needs of their constituency, and then you get things like that senator (I forget who it was offhand) who said flat out that he would "vote against the wishes of his district".
The health care reform bill is sure helping identify those congresscritters who think that way, regardless of what they *say* -- since most are still trying to push it through despite the bill having only something like 25% popular support. Regardless of your stance on the bill, does that sound like they are *representing the will of the people*??
Can't argue with that. Tho it's not so much Dems and Reps bussing the voters of their choice to the polls, as it is unions, tho unions have historically been Dems. (And when I've poll-watched, I did note that all the dead voters were Dems.) And the "I believe" without anything to back it up has likewise mostly been a Dem thing, in my observation (and not just mine; look up "Yellow Dog Democrat"). More Reps are skeptical or suspicious of ALL candidates until proven, including their own, and you'll find more Reps who will vote against party lines too.
Name recognition is probably the most effective of all advertising strategies, be that for consumer products or political office. Most people will indeed vote for the name they know even if that's ALL they know about the candidate. In Calif there's another aspect to that "vote for the familiar name": the hispanic vote will go en mass for the hispanic-sounding name, no matter what the candidate's actual ethnicity. I'd guess this is even more of a problem in countries with a village culture and/or limited literacy.
So, yeah, I agree -- voting should be informed choice, not blind duty (tho one might argue that as a voter, it is your *duty* to become so informed). And for myself, if I don't like any of the candidates or don't/can't learn what I feel I need to about 'em -- I'd rather withhold my vote.
I wouldn't call it emotional. I don't know anyone who's attached to the penny; I know a lot of stores that would gleefully raise prices by that one cent and hope no one noticed, and that sort of thing adds up, especially if you're poor.
Dropping delivery on a weekday is a really bad idea. Timebound stuff like bills and legal documents are never obligated for weekend time, but they ARE obligated for every weekday (that 10 days you get to pay or respond is counted in business days only). If they have to drop a day, Saturday makes more sense.
As to dropping low-performing branch offices, sometimes those are the only one convenient to a neighbourhood. I know if mine were closed, I'd have to drive considerably out of my way in much worse traffic, AND still drive to the old location because that's where the bank etc. are located. Hardly an emotional thing; it would cost me time and money regularly, a great deal more than would a few more cents more in postage.
I do have to wonder how much the partnership with Fedex actually costs, ie. whether it actually saves USPS anything or if it just dilutes revenues, since after all the same parcel delivery rate now has to be split between them. I also am reminded that a sharp decline in USPS speed and reliability happened about 2007ish, and wonder if that's related to their revenue drop. Much as folks like to rag on USPS, they'd always been THE fastest and most reliable, with the least parcel damage enroute, and every independent test I've seen confirmed that. For contrast, send a few things via Canada Post... it's much better/faster than it used to be, but still often gnaws the merchandise.
Definitely a problem :( And yet another reason why we need that "One Thing At A Time" bill passed. Of course, that'll never happen -- would cost too many special interests too much pork!!
[eyeing chart] Looks to me like the big problems were more due to declining revenue across the decade, and a sudden jump in "Retiree health benefits". "Total operating expenses" (which presumably includes fuel) increased, sure, but had been increasing all along. There's even a footnote about the retiree benefits being an excess cost in 2007.
Good point. Other works of IP "owned" by the government are by definition public domain (frex, NASA's space photos); why should art be any different?? I'd think it would be akin to a work-for-hire in the private sector -- you get paid for your work, and that's the end of your lawful interest in it.
Bouncing Betty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounding_mine
I'd want to see a good ratio of beneficial to negative. After all if a politician promoted 3 good bills and 50 bad ones, that's not much of a recommendation.
And there you have an analysis of mob behaviour in a nutshell. If you're not WITH us, you must be one of THEM.
One has to wonder how many fathers have been reported for taking a walk, hand in hand, with their own child.
Yep, and I was essentially agreeing with you, in the words your post happened to inspire. So if you're confused, it's your own fault. ;)
I've seen it too. What I remember was that some hapless taxi driver would be told "follow that car" then when it split and the driver had to decide which to follow, the hidden camera would record his reaction, as seen from the back seat. As I recall the range of reactions went from lame excuses to outright panic.
Now get that damned car off my lawn! ;)
If you have children, consider this: Do you really want your children to grow up into a world constrained by Stalinist laws, even if said laws are passed to "think of the children" in the present??
IOW: Is it worth saving the children now, only to destroy their future??
"You should not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered."
-- Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the U.S.
Candid Camera did a prototype of such a vehicle a long, long time ago...
Follow that car!
[car splits in half and goes separate ways]
Which one??