I saw that the other day when I was researching how the debt is held after reading an article about conflicting stories on how much debt the USA actually has... (US Govt estimates are at the $9t mark... while if standard accounting techniques were to be used to include pensions... the number would be more than twice that...).
My curiosity on the "opportunity" to help pay down the "Debt Held by the Public" is whether you get any kind of tax deduction. Anybody here a CPA and want to fill in the details on this?
The question comes down to how committed you are to that actual idea. While I work for a software company in Pennsylvania, my Dad works for a company called Novatel that creates various silicon for connecting devices to cellular networks. Your dream could be a reality with the combination of one of these: http://www.nvtl.com/products/ovation/index.html and the appropriate drivers written on the N800 maemo platform. The N800 has a USB connection. You wouldn't have a "cell phone" per se, however, what do you need a cell phone for if you have the ability to connect data on cellular? The only time you might run into trouble is when you are in rural ares with patch cellular coverage (and as such, patchy EVDO/3G data coverage). I happen to live in one of these areas... otherwise I'd have done it myself with my N800. Not everybody is happy with these things. They're/NOT/ laptops. Some folks seem to think they can be used as one. They're good for catching up on information and *maybe* sending a IM or two... beyond that... go find a keyboard. If you get a keyboard to go with it... honestly I could see myself doing php/html development on it.
We're getting closer. Somebody with enough determination and drive... they could do this in less than a month I'd imagine.
The problem with your theory is when the phone bill arrives. There's nothing like seeing: a) 100 forwarded calls on the phone bill b) the charges for all the per minute calls that were forwarded... above and beyond mom and dad's 1000 shared minutes.
For Hondas... this is inaccurate. There are two variations of Hybrid technology that are generally on the road (I'm sure there are others... but these are the two most popular). There is Gasoline-Electric (Integrated Motor Assist - IMA) and Electric-Gasoline (Hybrid Synergy Drive). Toyota's implementation (which has been licensed by just about everybody EXCEPT Honda) starts with electric and uses the gasoline engine only when additional power is needed for acceleration or higher speeds (highway). Honda, on the other hand, uses a 4-cylinder engine to power the car... and when you need extra acceleration... kicks in the electric motor (which also acts as a starter) that is powered by the batteries.
However, depending upon how the steam system was established, it could work as an additional powering tool for the vehicle. Especially if there was a mechanism for storage and gradual building of heat in the system. Maybe... instead of using the steam to actually drive the vehicle... use it as another means to build electrical energy into the batteries.
Reclaiming heat and inertia to help power elements of a vehicle are old concepts. The true key on all of these technologies (in their application towards an automobile) is advances in alloys. Back in the day... all you had was iron and steel (that was affordable and strong enough). With those materials... your weight was insane and not worth the trouble of adding additional drive mechanisms to the vehicle (as the extra weight negated the extra power you were going to get). With engines going to aluminum alloys and advances in frame structure techniques lowering curb weights, we can afford to put more of the total weight back into drive mechanisms.
Personally, I have a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. I love it. It was more expensive than the Toyota Prius (but not by much) but was well worth it. While the instrumentation evokes "spaceship"... looking at the car from the outside doesn't. That is why my wife and I didn't like the Prius. It looks like something out of a Carl Sagan inspired picture of tomorrow. While that's nice for some... I don't like it. I still get enough "ooglers" who ask me about my gas mileage to keep me happy. My gas mileage hangs out around 55 MPG during the summer and dips down to 42-45 during the winter due to the effect of cold on the system... it protects the battery by only allowing it to be used a little until the cabin heats up. This hurts my MPG performance during the winter alot (55 down to 42/45) because I pull-out onto the main road which is a very steep up-hill. Since the gasoline engine is doing most of the work on the cold mornings... it eats more gas than usual.
I think there's still some promise left in gasoline... but I think we definitely need to push for alternative methods for doing the primary drive of the vehicle under stress. Hydrogen would be a good one if we could create it effectively (pbbbt! to those that complain about distribution... the gasoline infrastructure could be converted).
In the words of Daft Punk: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
I agree. Most of the HTPC cases that I've seen haven't been works of art. However, that's because they are so generalist. The closest that I've seen to having a nice looking HTPC is the Bose Lifestyle systems. While these aren't strictly HTPCs... they techincally are... (just like an XBox360 is technically a PC). The drawback, of course, is that these suckers start at such a ridiculously high price (oh, and they aren't MythTV type boxes... but music playback type of boxes). Another good whole house audio solution is Sonos, but again... it costs a small fortune.
The big thing that bothers me about most HTPC cases? Their stupid brand name being on the front of them. Silverstone's seem to be the least obtrusive... but come-on. If I'm building one of these suckers... I want it to say my name or no name.
The question comes in whether or not the support staff is worth their salt. Teachers should be there to *TEACH* not to figure out what is wrong with the technology that is supposed to be helping them. This is the role that Teacher's Assistants and technology staff hired by most Universities and High Schools are supposed to have. Things may be different, but when I was at UCI, there was always a TA there at the beginning and end of the class to ensure that everything was setup. There were two microphones available in the event that one of them had a problem.
I am now a teacher of computer classes and I can't tell you how annoying it is for me to come in and have to do the job of the technical staff. I realize things break, but there is also a line between "well, things break" and "well, things aren't maintained, so they break". If proper attention is given to the technology... it can be a boon. For one, I'd love to have a system such as this in the classroom. However, given the original poster's desire to have 6 options and s/he hasn't specified a number of folks to be using the system... I can only assume it would need to scale to the larger lecture halls of the university circuit (1000+). Can anybody say Wi-Fi? Overkill? Yeah, probably. Develop a series of forms for the class to answer.
There are few things that, in the end of humanity, we will deem "impossible". There are merely items with which we are unable to explain or replicate with science today.
Sure, Alchemists were not able to turn various metals into gold, but today, using nuclear physics, we can turn lead into gold and by semi-simple means, carbon into diamonds.
However, I agree with your comment that If DRM can be done at all, it will take a whole lot more money than the entertainment industry is prepared to spend. Yes, gold can now be produced by nuclear reactions, it is just plain easier to go out and dig the stuff up. The entertainment industry will find, eventually, that it CAN be done to manage digital rights, but at such a cost that it just isn't worth it. Hopefully, that day will come long before we all get thrown in jail for letting our friends borrow a digitally true copy of seinfeld that we recorded last week on our PVR. I don't know about anybody else, but I honestly have paid for software, music, videos, etc.. that I want to support those that have created it.
The big problem is that people today aren't creating things that are truly part of themselves. If they were, it wouldn't matter how much money they did or didn't get. The attitude of "yeah, I could do that, but what would I get for it?" is what is keeping the United States of America (and many other good nations) from becoming the best they/we could become. At some point, people have to discern what is important to them and do it ONLY for that reason, because it is important to them. I think if you (and I mean anyone here, not just the one post I'm replying to) look into the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard you will see that his philosophy strikes at why the world wars were fought and why so many people are so disillusioned today.
Eh, just my.02 (inflation adjusted, currency exchange rates, taxes and tariffs may increase or decrease value).
FTC and every other government agency in the US is given their power by congress... the legislative body that is *supposed* to be the voice of the people. Yeah, so... write your congressman or go become one. Please. Unless congress gives them the power to "bite" they can only lightly gnaw on this person's liberties (note, I didn't say he was right, I didn't say they were taking away his rights... just that his liberties were being infringed upon... much the same way that we take the liberties of a buck fifty away from people that run Stop signs in most metropolitan areas).
There's a decent article written by one of the volunteers at LANParty.com about America's Army: Operations (there ARE two different games). Here's a blurb about it: One of the first articles about this awesome game, brought to you by LANParty.com!
It sounds like a conspiracy, doesn't it? A game funded by the government, made by the Army, and given away to the public for free. The kicker is that it is totally and completely free. When you think about it, it's not terribly surprising. If you want to reach the youth of America, go where the youth go: video games.
I have to say that I completely agree that the concept of a class that teaches philosophy with The Simpsons exclusively is a sham and a sign of the degenerating University system in the United States. However, I must disagree and say that I believe there IS a place for studying something like The Simpsons or Star Trek if not simply for the clear application of some philosophical theories discussed by philosophers since the dawn of man. This might bridge the gap for a number of substandard college students.
The question, imho, comes down to the purpose and intent of the university system. If the intent is simply to weed out the good from the bad and reward the good with a degree, then yeah... The Simpsons shouldn't be philosophically studied. However, if the goal is to enlighten society, sometimes unusual methods are necessary to bridge the gap between difficult material and how it might apply to one's own life. Having taken several courses in philosophy, I enjoy using Star Trek and The Simpsons (among others) to spring board into conversations about material that does seem to question the fabric our modern culture and societies has decided holds the universe together. The Simpsons is particularly useful when I watch it with my girlfriend. Ordinarily, she isn't one to discuss philosophical ideas, but after a round of The Simpsons, shes ready to chat and usually makes some pretty good arguements that relate to research and reading that she's done in the past.
Summary: A course title on its own is not enough to judge. Unfortunately, I suspect the type of drivel that you describe. As you said, though, my recommended course direction would be to take some "real" philosophy courses first and follow with some of the ones like, "The Simpsons of the Modern Era".
"Rolling your own " refers to the well done personal construction and design of an item. This came about as a result of a few "culturalisms":
Rolling conceptually is movement oriented and closely associated with part of the holy grail of physics: perpetual motion.
A sphere is considered by many cultures to be "perfect" and is the foundation for many traditions in cultures around the world associating with lack of termination. That's why a wedding ring is used in a marriage ceremony.
Therefore, to "get something rolling" is to set it in motion with correct "perfect" design that will result in unending positive results. This has morphed through "dialectic shortening" (arguing well, shorter) into "rolling" a design.
The reason its called rolling a blunt isn't because you need superior design or construction, its because you actually ROLL the blunt with ROLLING PAPER. Just because you decide to connect "rolling your own laptop" with drugs doesn't mean that the rest of us do.
space.com slashdotted... new link
on
Meteor Showers
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Space.com's link for the Perseid meteor shower information has officially been slashdotted.
You can view similar information (or at least good information on the annual Perseid meteor showers) on
nasa.gov. Yummy tasty.
This is exactly correct (according to my recent bizlaw class). Extradition is for criminals who have fled the jurisdiction that they commited the crime in.
The concern is for extraterritoriality and comity to become commonplace. This will be the initial source of a given nation (for example, Germany AFAIK, the location of the "internet police" imposed by the EU) employing their laws against the citizens of another nation (for example, the United States). The problem ensues when the nations are "fine" with extending comity (enforcement of another nations sanctions/restitutions) despite extraterritoriality (extension of a jurisdiction beyond its legal boundaries to violate sovereignty) concerns. In cases of clear legal concern, (like murder or clear breach of contract)this hasn't been a problem. With legislation of the Internet and "speech" however, this may be described as troublesome at best. While comity is extended on a case by case basis with diplomats playing the game of diplomatic checkers, the trouble comes when the courts begin to simply take cases of comity from courts of other nations as if they were being handed from another court from within the same nation. THIS is where globalization REALLY occurs and may NEVER be returned from.
In and of itself, the issue of globalization is not a scary one. If the entire world could live with libery, peace and harmony, each receiving the opportunity to pursue "life, liberty and happiness" everything would be fine. However, it simply comes down to the fact that governments, as a whole, do NOT look out for the interests of the people. They look out for the interests of themselves. As others have mentioned, this extends to include the interests of those that want to support those that actually legislate and in some cases to the judges (keep in mind, its not illegal to bribe in all countries, much less all states).
Keep in mind, the United States is a GREAT place to live. I know that I have at least two of my fundamental rights pretty soundly secured. I have life and the pursuit of happiness. But where is my liberty going? Today, I cannot quote from one of the web pages that I read (it has a simple javascript utility on it that prevents "right-clicking" so that users may not copy) because it would constitute circumvention of an electronic gate on top of the fact that there is no longer fair use of digital publications as a result of DMCA. While the guys there wouldn't press charges against me, what if the FBI decided that they needed to? Adobe, for instance, isn't concerned about Skylarov anymore, but the FBI sure is.
The Declaration of CyberIndependence (written by Barlow of EFF and quoted above-> find barlow) is right on. The Internet is not a nation, nor is it a portion of a nation or belong to any nation. The US HAD claim to it originally as part of ARPANET but did the right thing in turning the technology into something for commercial use and thus for Americans (and then the world) to use to their advantage. The days of possession of the Internet SHOULD BE over. Every nation wants to claim "their piece" and it simply cannot happen if we want the concept of globalization to happen the right way.
What's to be done? Well, the usual... write your congress(wo)man if you have one. If you don't, write your newspaper (if you can). If you can't, talk to your neighbor. Make sure people know that open source isn't a virus, hackers aren't bad because they hack (READ: I'm using the REAL definition of a hacker, not the stupid media connotation of what a hacker is), and that corporations of the world need to ceede their power back to their consumers and to the people of the world. If they won't? We need to let the politicians know that they will be replaced by someone who will force the corporations to do so.
No, actually, this is an inaccurate analogy. Instead:
"I am coming around to your house with a covered sign in my car that, if you ask me, I'll show it to you once."
After all, its your responsibility to type in http://www.yahoo.com (or any other URL).
Well, according to my administrative law class that I just took, you are wrong about this. The DEA and other organizations that deal with/work against the drug trade have codified (via administrative law) their own protective measures. As long as they have some kind of "justification" for their actions, they are not liable for damages of any kind.
An example of this follows as such:
Plane seized from a drug traffiker (sp?) by DEA
Plane sold at auction by DEA
Plane bought at auction by Civil Air Patrol
Plane maintains same air-license-plate (N-number)
Plane not cleared out of DEA computers as a drug plane
Plane herded to a Florida airport where blackhawks (large helicoptors) INTENTIONALLY flip the light plane with their wash.
Plane's occupants (4 civil patrolmen doing search and rescue operations) bail out and are almost shot by the DEA guys in the blackhawks
Plane is SEVERELY damaged but no restitution is paid as the incident is "justified"
They can't pick RANDOM people (or planes or boats or whatever), but they CAN pick those that have a history. Unjust? Well, probably only as unjust as the fact that ex-cons can't vote and are labeled as such for the rest of their lives.
A professor of mine in High School had a simple briefcase style "desk/lap-top" that he used. It looked more like a mini-tower with a fold away LCD panel. This is akin to what I'm looking to do for my next system. Looking at how I would use the system, I realized that there would be VERY FEW times in which I would need to actually use batteries (as I would be able to suck power in a classroom, lab, dorm room, apartment, most restaurants and/or at work).
Currently, I'm just waiting on being able to afford the components I want:
* Apple Cinema Display
* Athlon/Duron based board and system
(though with the past problems with pwr supply problems, I wonder if I should go with Intel)
* 802.11b
* 512Mb >= RAM
* Optical Mouse (any surface, including the top of your head if necessary)
* ATI Radeon vid card
* SB Live! snd crd
* mini-keyboard
* 30gb >= Hrd Drv
At the risk of being stoned (pls, no pun intended), I WISH I could run on a TiBook, but just can't quite pry myself away from win*. Too many other users that I have to support (flippen family!) to stray too far from the heard. Doh!
Slashdot Mirror
I saw that the other day when I was researching how the debt is held after reading an article about conflicting stories on how much debt the USA actually has... (US Govt estimates are at the $9t mark... while if standard accounting techniques were to be used to include pensions... the number would be more than twice that...).
My curiosity on the "opportunity" to help pay down the "Debt Held by the Public" is whether you get any kind of tax deduction. Anybody here a CPA and want to fill in the details on this?
The question comes down to how committed you are to that actual idea. While I work for a software company in Pennsylvania, my Dad works for a company called Novatel that creates various silicon for connecting devices to cellular networks. Your dream could be a reality with the combination of one of these: /NOT/ laptops. Some folks seem to think they can be used as one. They're good for catching up on information and *maybe* sending a IM or two... beyond that... go find a keyboard. If you get a keyboard to go with it... honestly I could see myself doing php/html development on it.
http://www.nvtl.com/products/ovation/index.html
and the appropriate drivers written on the N800 maemo platform. The N800 has a USB connection. You wouldn't have a "cell phone" per se, however, what do you need a cell phone for if you have the ability to connect data on cellular? The only time you might run into trouble is when you are in rural ares with patch cellular coverage (and as such, patchy EVDO/3G data coverage).
I happen to live in one of these areas... otherwise I'd have done it myself with my N800. Not everybody is happy with these things. They're
We're getting closer. Somebody with enough determination and drive... they could do this in less than a month I'd imagine.
The problem with your theory is when the phone bill arrives. There's nothing like seeing:
a) 100 forwarded calls on the phone bill
b) the charges for all the per minute calls that were forwarded... above and beyond mom and dad's 1000 shared minutes.
OUCH. Grounded for life.
For Hondas... this is inaccurate. There are two variations of Hybrid technology that are generally on the road (I'm sure there are others... but these are the two most popular). There is Gasoline-Electric (Integrated Motor Assist - IMA) and Electric-Gasoline (Hybrid Synergy Drive). Toyota's implementation (which has been licensed by just about everybody EXCEPT Honda) starts with electric and uses the gasoline engine only when additional power is needed for acceleration or higher speeds (highway). Honda, on the other hand, uses a 4-cylinder engine to power the car... and when you need extra acceleration... kicks in the electric motor (which also acts as a starter) that is powered by the batteries.
However, depending upon how the steam system was established, it could work as an additional powering tool for the vehicle. Especially if there was a mechanism for storage and gradual building of heat in the system. Maybe... instead of using the steam to actually drive the vehicle... use it as another means to build electrical energy into the batteries.
Reclaiming heat and inertia to help power elements of a vehicle are old concepts. The true key on all of these technologies (in their application towards an automobile) is advances in alloys. Back in the day... all you had was iron and steel (that was affordable and strong enough). With those materials... your weight was insane and not worth the trouble of adding additional drive mechanisms to the vehicle (as the extra weight negated the extra power you were going to get). With engines going to aluminum alloys and advances in frame structure techniques lowering curb weights, we can afford to put more of the total weight back into drive mechanisms.
Personally, I have a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. I love it. It was more expensive than the Toyota Prius (but not by much) but was well worth it. While the instrumentation evokes "spaceship"... looking at the car from the outside doesn't. That is why my wife and I didn't like the Prius. It looks like something out of a Carl Sagan inspired picture of tomorrow. While that's nice for some... I don't like it. I still get enough "ooglers" who ask me about my gas mileage to keep me happy. My gas mileage hangs out around 55 MPG during the summer and dips down to 42-45 during the winter due to the effect of cold on the system... it protects the battery by only allowing it to be used a little until the cabin heats up. This hurts my MPG performance during the winter alot (55 down to 42/45) because I pull-out onto the main road which is a very steep up-hill. Since the gasoline engine is doing most of the work on the cold mornings... it eats more gas than usual.
I think there's still some promise left in gasoline... but I think we definitely need to push for alternative methods for doing the primary drive of the vehicle under stress. Hydrogen would be a good one if we could create it effectively (pbbbt! to those that complain about distribution... the gasoline infrastructure could be converted).
In the words of Daft Punk: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
I agree. Most of the HTPC cases that I've seen haven't been works of art. However, that's because they are so generalist. The closest that I've seen to having a nice looking HTPC is the Bose Lifestyle systems. While these aren't strictly HTPCs... they techincally are... (just like an XBox360 is technically a PC). The drawback, of course, is that these suckers start at such a ridiculously high price (oh, and they aren't MythTV type boxes... but music playback type of boxes). Another good whole house audio solution is Sonos, but again... it costs a small fortune.
The big thing that bothers me about most HTPC cases? Their stupid brand name being on the front of them. Silverstone's seem to be the least obtrusive... but come-on. If I'm building one of these suckers... I want it to say my name or no name.
The question comes in whether or not the support staff is worth their salt. Teachers should be there to *TEACH* not to figure out what is wrong with the technology that is supposed to be helping them. This is the role that Teacher's Assistants and technology staff hired by most Universities and High Schools are supposed to have. Things may be different, but when I was at UCI, there was always a TA there at the beginning and end of the class to ensure that everything was setup. There were two microphones available in the event that one of them had a problem.
I am now a teacher of computer classes and I can't tell you how annoying it is for me to come in and have to do the job of the technical staff. I realize things break, but there is also a line between "well, things break" and "well, things aren't maintained, so they break". If proper attention is given to the technology... it can be a boon. For one, I'd love to have a system such as this in the classroom. However, given the original poster's desire to have 6 options and s/he hasn't specified a number of folks to be using the system... I can only assume it would need to scale to the larger lecture halls of the university circuit (1000+). Can anybody say Wi-Fi? Overkill? Yeah, probably. Develop a series of forms for the class to answer.
Sure, Alchemists were not able to turn various metals into gold, but today, using nuclear physics, we can turn lead into gold and by semi-simple means, carbon into diamonds.
However, I agree with your comment that If DRM can be done at all, it will take a whole lot more money than the entertainment industry is prepared to spend. Yes, gold can now be produced by nuclear reactions, it is just plain easier to go out and dig the stuff up. The entertainment industry will find, eventually, that it CAN be done to manage digital rights, but at such a cost that it just isn't worth it. Hopefully, that day will come long before we all get thrown in jail for letting our friends borrow a digitally true copy of seinfeld that we recorded last week on our PVR. I don't know about anybody else, but I honestly have paid for software, music, videos, etc.. that I want to support those that have created it.
The big problem is that people today aren't creating things that are truly part of themselves. If they were, it wouldn't matter how much money they did or didn't get. The attitude of "yeah, I could do that, but what would I get for it?" is what is keeping the United States of America (and many other good nations) from becoming the best they/we could become. At some point, people have to discern what is important to them and do it ONLY for that reason, because it is important to them. I think if you (and I mean anyone here, not just the one post I'm replying to) look into the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard you will see that his philosophy strikes at why the world wars were fought and why so many people are so disillusioned today.
Eh, just my .02 (inflation adjusted, currency exchange rates, taxes and tariffs may increase or decrease value).
FTC and every other government agency in the US is given their power by congress... the legislative body that is *supposed* to be the voice of the people. Yeah, so... write your congressman or go become one. Please. Unless congress gives them the power to "bite" they can only lightly gnaw on this person's liberties (note, I didn't say he was right, I didn't say they were taking away his rights... just that his liberties were being infringed upon... much the same way that we take the liberties of a buck fifty away from people that run Stop signs in most metropolitan areas).
One of the first articles about this awesome game, brought to you by LANParty.com! See the entire article here.
I have to say that I completely agree that the concept of a class that teaches philosophy with The Simpsons exclusively is a sham and a sign of the degenerating University system in the United States. However, I must disagree and say that I believe there IS a place for studying something like The Simpsons or Star Trek if not simply for the clear application of some philosophical theories discussed by philosophers since the dawn of man. This might bridge the gap for a number of substandard college students.
The question, imho, comes down to the purpose and intent of the university system. If the intent is simply to weed out the good from the bad and reward the good with a degree, then yeah... The Simpsons shouldn't be philosophically studied. However, if the goal is to enlighten society, sometimes unusual methods are necessary to bridge the gap between difficult material and how it might apply to one's own life. Having taken several courses in philosophy, I enjoy using Star Trek and The Simpsons (among others) to spring board into conversations about material that does seem to question the fabric our modern culture and societies has decided holds the universe together. The Simpsons is particularly useful when I watch it with my girlfriend. Ordinarily, she isn't one to discuss philosophical ideas, but after a round of The Simpsons, shes ready to chat and usually makes some pretty good arguements that relate to research and reading that she's done in the past.
Summary: A course title on its own is not enough to judge. Unfortunately, I suspect the type of drivel that you describe. As you said, though, my recommended course direction would be to take some "real" philosophy courses first and follow with some of the ones like, "The Simpsons of the Modern Era".
- Rolling conceptually is movement oriented and closely associated with part of the holy grail of physics: perpetual motion.
- A sphere is considered by many cultures to be "perfect" and is the foundation for many traditions in cultures around the world associating with lack of termination. That's why a wedding ring is used in a marriage ceremony.
- Therefore, to "get something rolling" is to set it in motion with correct "perfect" design that will result in unending positive results. This has morphed through "dialectic shortening" (arguing well, shorter) into "rolling" a design.
The reason its called rolling a blunt isn't because you need superior design or construction, its because you actually ROLL the blunt with ROLLING PAPER. Just because you decide to connect "rolling your own laptop" with drugs doesn't mean that the rest of us do.Space.com's link for the Perseid meteor shower information has officially been slashdotted.
You can view similar information (or at least good information on the annual Perseid meteor showers) on nasa.gov. Yummy tasty.
This is exactly correct (according to my recent bizlaw class). Extradition is for criminals who have fled the jurisdiction that they commited the crime in.
The concern is for extraterritoriality and comity to become commonplace. This will be the initial source of a given nation (for example, Germany AFAIK, the location of the "internet police" imposed by the EU) employing their laws against the citizens of another nation (for example, the United States). The problem ensues when the nations are "fine" with extending comity (enforcement of another nations sanctions/restitutions) despite extraterritoriality (extension of a jurisdiction beyond its legal boundaries to violate sovereignty) concerns. In cases of clear legal concern, (like murder or clear breach of contract)this hasn't been a problem. With legislation of the Internet and "speech" however, this may be described as troublesome at best. While comity is extended on a case by case basis with diplomats playing the game of diplomatic checkers, the trouble comes when the courts begin to simply take cases of comity from courts of other nations as if they were being handed from another court from within the same nation. THIS is where globalization REALLY occurs and may NEVER be returned from.
In and of itself, the issue of globalization is not a scary one. If the entire world could live with libery, peace and harmony, each receiving the opportunity to pursue "life, liberty and happiness" everything would be fine. However, it simply comes down to the fact that governments, as a whole, do NOT look out for the interests of the people. They look out for the interests of themselves. As others have mentioned, this extends to include the interests of those that want to support those that actually legislate and in some cases to the judges (keep in mind, its not illegal to bribe in all countries, much less all states).
Keep in mind, the United States is a GREAT place to live. I know that I have at least two of my fundamental rights pretty soundly secured. I have life and the pursuit of happiness. But where is my liberty going? Today, I cannot quote from one of the web pages that I read (it has a simple javascript utility on it that prevents "right-clicking" so that users may not copy) because it would constitute circumvention of an electronic gate on top of the fact that there is no longer fair use of digital publications as a result of DMCA. While the guys there wouldn't press charges against me, what if the FBI decided that they needed to? Adobe, for instance, isn't concerned about Skylarov anymore, but the FBI sure is.
The Declaration of CyberIndependence (written by Barlow of EFF and quoted above-> find barlow) is right on. The Internet is not a nation, nor is it a portion of a nation or belong to any nation. The US HAD claim to it originally as part of ARPANET but did the right thing in turning the technology into something for commercial use and thus for Americans (and then the world) to use to their advantage. The days of possession of the Internet SHOULD BE over. Every nation wants to claim "their piece" and it simply cannot happen if we want the concept of globalization to happen the right way.
What's to be done? Well, the usual... write your congress(wo)man if you have one. If you don't, write your newspaper (if you can). If you can't, talk to your neighbor. Make sure people know that open source isn't a virus, hackers aren't bad because they hack (READ: I'm using the REAL definition of a hacker, not the stupid media connotation of what a hacker is), and that corporations of the world need to ceede their power back to their consumers and to the people of the world. If they won't? We need to let the politicians know that they will be replaced by someone who will force the corporations to do so.
No, actually, this is an inaccurate analogy. Instead:
"I am coming around to your house with a covered sign in my car that, if you ask me, I'll show it to you once."
After all, its your responsibility to type in http://www.yahoo.com (or any other URL).
Well, according to my administrative law class that I just took, you are wrong about this. The DEA and other organizations that deal with/work against the drug trade have codified (via administrative law) their own protective measures. As long as they have some kind of "justification" for their actions, they are not liable for damages of any kind.
An example of this follows as such:
Plane seized from a drug traffiker (sp?) by DEA
Plane sold at auction by DEA
Plane bought at auction by Civil Air Patrol
Plane maintains same air-license-plate (N-number)
Plane not cleared out of DEA computers as a drug plane
Plane herded to a Florida airport where blackhawks (large helicoptors) INTENTIONALLY flip the light plane with their wash.
Plane's occupants (4 civil patrolmen doing search and rescue operations) bail out and are almost shot by the DEA guys in the blackhawks
Plane is SEVERELY damaged but no restitution is paid as the incident is "justified"
They can't pick RANDOM people (or planes or boats or whatever), but they CAN pick those that have a history. Unjust? Well, probably only as unjust as the fact that ex-cons can't vote and are labeled as such for the rest of their lives.
A professor of mine in High School had a simple briefcase style "desk/lap-top" that he used. It looked more like a mini-tower with a fold away LCD panel. This is akin to what I'm looking to do for my next system. Looking at how I would use the system, I realized that there would be VERY FEW times in which I would need to actually use batteries (as I would be able to suck power in a classroom, lab, dorm room, apartment, most restaurants and/or at work).
Currently, I'm just waiting on being able to afford the components I want:
* Apple Cinema Display
* Athlon/Duron based board and system
(though with the past problems with pwr supply problems, I wonder if I should go with Intel)
* 802.11b
* 512Mb >= RAM
* Optical Mouse (any surface, including the top of your head if necessary)
* ATI Radeon vid card
* SB Live! snd crd
* mini-keyboard
* 30gb >= Hrd Drv
At the risk of being stoned (pls, no pun intended), I WISH I could run on a TiBook, but just can't quite pry myself away from win*. Too many other users that I have to support (flippen family!) to stray too far from the heard. Doh!