And you're bringing what to the table with your partisan-baiting rant? Certainly not a serious "argument."
In this case, no arguments, since I agreed with the op, but I thought it was worth adding my comment to the use of 'fake news', since this has already become a nonsense term.
Well, you just did, didn't you? However, since the howler-monkeys of the alt-right (or -wrong, perhaps?) yell that at every turn of the road, it has become little more than another swear word, so if you want to contribute genuinely to an intelligent discussion (and I think you do), another term might help your argument being taken serious.
Every time somebody raises concerns about the current trends towards hate, distrust, racism and shameless, outright lying, it seems a group of howler monkeys start up, trying to drown out any comment they don't like, using any means they have at hand. I suppose we should all be grateful they generally aren't all that intellectually well-endowed, and that most of it is just meaningless nonsense. It used to upset me, because I genuinely like to have an honest discussion about things and try to cultivate an attitude of being willing to let the arguments and the facts convince me; recently, however, I decided to not care any more. After all, reality is reality, even if people like the alt-right (or should that be 'alt-wrong'?) are too scared to face up to it. In the end, reality will win through - how could it be otherwise?
So, perhaps the best course of action is to withdrow from things, head for the hills, and let the idiots stew in their own shit; and then come back once they have killed off each other. It is certainly tempting to do so. I think those of us that remember our history lessons, will recall that what we see now has been seen before: the fascists in Italy, the nazis in Germany, the falangists in Spain, and the list goes on and on: a small group of ruthless fanatics exploit a large population of people, who feel they have little or no hope and little education, by stirring up shit and bullying anybody that opposes them. It's funny how the world turns - who would have thought, 30 or 40 years ago, that America, the Land of Freedom and Opportunity, would be the next bastion of benighted fascism? And that China would become the beacon of hope? And yet, that is where seem to be going at the moment.
Whether he should be fined or not is none of my business, but the same rules should apply to everybody. If a tasteless joke aboutTrump is to be punished for being 'homophobic' (which it clearly isn't), then how about the black-hearted hate-preachers, like the socalled evangelicals, who keep spewing homophobia, anti-semitism etc every time they open the mouth? Apart from that, the joke in question was only offensive to Trump and his supporters, who are allergic to criticism; well, possibly to gays - I don't think they necessarily want to be associated with Trump.
Compare the French to the Germans, who not only embrace all sorts of languages, it is considered educated to know and use words from other languages in their speech and adopt them into German.
"Obese" is a well defined, medical term - look it up. I know there is some controversy over how fit for purpose the definition is, but there is no doubt what it means at all. And arguably, whether your BMI is 33 or higher because of an abundance of fat or because of muscles that have been artificially pumped up with hormones, it is likely to affect your health negatively.
Ah, but that is the selling point, you see, just listen to this wise tale:
In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification;
And the plan was without form, and the specification was void.
And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof;
And they spake unto their leader, saying:
"It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer."
And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader:
"It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof."
And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying:
"It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it."
The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus:
"It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."
The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying:
"It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong."
And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President.
"It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful."
The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed:
"This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!"
And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good.
No you don't - your military expenses are solely directed at America's self-interest, so don't be hypocritical, and don't flatter yourself. America, with its blind drive towards excessive consumerism and ruthless self-interest cannot expect the rest of the world to simply follow her down the wrong path.
It is a bizarre fact, that anything that is even vaguely competitive and can be commericalised as a form of entertainment, counts as 'sport' in the US. I think the most eye-watering example of this, so far, is the eating competitions; the sight of blubbery blokes engulfing vast amounts of fast food in the shortest time possible - and being called 'athletes' - sent me straight to the salad bowl for a week. Sport indeed.
I don't actually want to slag off Windows, Microsoft or the people who swear by Microsoft products - but every time I see this kind of news, I'm just so happy I left it behind and moved to Linux. It is strange, and not a little sad, to look back to the time when DOS and Windows were so cool and I thought of Microsoft as pioneers in making computer freedom possible. I used to love programming for Windows 3, as poor ad rickety as it was, but then they started turning the thumbscrews ever harder.
I have no idea whether MS Office gives me any advantages over Open-/LibreOffice, and I don't care. I do know that every time my wife gets into trouble with her MS Office documents, I take them over to Linux and sort them out. And, living in a world of Linux and mathematics, I have discovered LaTeX (not the kind you use for your kinky interests, the kind you use for kinky typesetting), and what a joy that is, especially compared to what is on offer in office programs. I know, you can get that on Windows, but it's just a lot less convenient there.
You guys in America constantly whinge and whine about tax, but I think if you actually tried to look up the numbers, you would find that you are not even close to the top in any conceivable way. But maybe I shouldn't bee too dismissive; in Europe we pay far more in tax, but I think we have reason to feel that we get more back as well, such as universal, public health care and free education - in some countries even up to a masters degree or PhD.
To be fair, the regulations are trying to push a low fat whole grain diet, which I don't believe is actually healthy. Fat is essential for brain development, our kids definitely shouldn't be eating low fat.
The US has the highest proportion of obese children of any rich nation, so lack of fat is probably not what holds back brain development in children in America. And it is not fat in gneral that is essential - it is specific, fatty acids, such as omega-3, not the saturated or hydrogenated fats that processed foods are full of. What most children in the West need more than anything is much less food of a much better quality, and outdoor activities. For Heavens' sake, there are children that die of heart attacks and strokes because of this absurd overeating epidemic that plagues the West - especially the US.
"Molten mass" indeed. Wouldn't you expect, when writing to an audience, that is at least marginally interested in technical and scientific issues, that they would be able to understand (or at least willing to put up with) technical terms? Too many popularisers of science go too far in dumbing down what they write, or perhaps that is their own level of understanding. I find it disrespectful of your audience, when you try to convert everything to baby-language and inept simile. Like that other gripe of mine: why does a large number like 10^18 have to become something like "a million million million"? People who don't understand 10^18 won't have much idea about "a million million million" either - it's just something huge. Stop treating people like they were idiots, please.
He's after the appearance of *trying* to bring jobs back. If he has that, he'll keep his supporters even if the jobs never come.
Up to a point, I expect; the need of a lot of people is very real to them, even if Trump doesn't really know or care, and at some point they will probably begin to realise that he simply isn't going to deliver. It will, of course, always be somebody else's fault, but how long can you really stretch that? Promises that never turn into reality become disappointments, and who knows how angry these people will be when they realise that they have been taken for a ride? Hopefully they will know who to take it out on.
Look here, Trump and his Brilliant A-Team believe in evidence driven science, and as we can see, there is now no evidence and everything is clear, so what's your problem, actually?;-)
How is it not a problem if a repressive government gets ahead of the west in R&D? Do you like more, or less repressive government and the wrongful imprisonment of dissenters?
You speak of China as if they were the same as North Korea, or worse, which is manifestly untrue. China, in the 60es, was repressive, no doubt, and you could see it in the fall in living standards, but things have turned around in a radical way since then. Have you ever been to China? If you ask anybody whether they think their government is repressive, they will tell you that the government does what it should - that it does what the people wants. As an American you may not like it, but since this is not your country, your opinion doesn't really count. As for China getting ahead of the US: up your game, invest more in proper education. The US is still a bit ahead, but for how long? You are letting it slip through your fingers, playing with silly superstitions.
Again, would you like a militarily aggressive force controlling the moon?
Isn't that more of an argument against the US being present there? Or European nations? Or Russia? In fact, of all the superpowers, China seems to have conducted the fewest wars of aggression in the last few centuries. The West has always had its excuses ready - civilising the savages, rolling back Communism etc, but excuses is all they were. As for controlling the moon - how do you imagine they would do that? Send 100 million Chinese up there to occupy the whole surface? Planting a flag and going "Mine! It's mine I tell you! Mwahahaha!!!"? Even establishing a base similar to one of the Antarctic research stations is going to take decades, no doubt. It will be centuries before any talk of dominating the Moon is remotely relevant.
The right criterium is not how old or old fashioned something is - if it does the job better than something newer, then it is the newer technology that isn't good enough. One of the things about COBOL is that it is in many ways such a simple language, compared to modern ones; the complexity is mostly the very heavy syntax and convoluted attempts at using language that would have been seen as solid, American and business like in the 50es. When you get down to the actual code that does something, it is surprisingly close to assembler in many ways:
ADD NUMBER TO ANOTHERNUMBER.
PERFORM PROCEDURE1 25 TIMES....
I think there is very little to optimise from the compiler side, and the lack of advanced syntax may well be a major advantage - business transactions are computationally very simple and mostly only require the things that COBOL does. I think, if one were to seriously replace the language, it should be with something equally simple - a kind of COBOL with a lighter and less convoluted syntax, and it would probably lose the identification and environment division. Things that actually make the code clearer to read would be added, like procedures with parameters, to avoid using global variables etc. Who knows, it may already exist - I haven't used COBOL for decades, and I think I have heard the term 'OBJECT COBOL'.
BMW and Benz are Tesla's competitors. Of course Tesla is gonna want to "service" them as little as possible. What did he expect?
Common decency? Having grown a business, I think it is reasonable to think that he had done the normal due diligence, and that he had reasons to expect that existing deals with his customers would be honoured - it's hard to guess without knowing more details. It is not, in fact unusual for companies to have their competitors as customers; I can how it could have been an advantage for Tesla to own the patents and setting the trends for these technologies for a long time, by licensing them to other car manufacturers. I don't think they simply want to cut off all connections - they just want to squeeze them into a deal that pays more to Tesla.
Success is mostly down to dumb luck: being in the right place at the right time. Things like intelligence, talent and ability have a role to play also. You need to be able to recognise the opportunity when you see it, you needs to have the knowledge and skills to exploit it, and you need to have that feeling of "entitlement" - but there are plenty of people out there with all the skills and talent, who don't make it. If you have worked for any length of time as a software developer, you know this is true, because you have seen how few, upper level managers and CEOs are anything more than moderately intelligent.
the outright theft of IP, to humanitarian concerns regarding political prisoners, religious persecution, Tibet, freedom of navigation in the Global Commons that is the South China Sea, and including their tolerance for the North Korean situation
I think, in so many ways, that it is more than a little sanctimonious, when the US points the finger at others for doing or having done what the US themselves have done or continue to do. IP theft was common practice in the US until the day when it turned out to be more profitable to protect US companies' own IP rights. The LOTR books were (in-)famously printed and sold in the US without Tolkien's permission, until he somehow managed to put a stop to it. And of course, with the widespread opposition to DRM amongst/. readers, IP rights is perhaps a slightly uncomfortable subject any way?
Political prisoners, religious persecution: no doubt there are cases, where China could be much more tolerant of political opposition without endangering the stability of the country, but I think it is wrong to think that every person called "political prisoner" by hostile agancies are not in fact criminals that ought to be locked up. As for religious persecution: apart from Falun Gong and the Tibetan feudal lords, who is being persecuted for their religion now? If we're talking about American evangelicals not being allowed in to preach about how "communism is against God", then I can't see the problem, to be honest; they are nothing more than political agitators tryng to stir up trouble. And again, can we in the West truly accuse China of any of these things without being hypocrites, in the light of things like Muslim-bans etc?
As for Xizang and the South China Sea, I think it is a well-established principle that whatever you can hold on to, belongs to you; it has certainly worked for the US, I think. And Israel, come to think of it. Do I think the world should be as uncivilised as this? No, not really, but it is.
Finally, North Korea is a growing problem and embarrasment for China, as I am sure they are acutely aware. I can't see how anybody can quickly solve that problem without massive loss of life. Sanctions and withdrawal of Chinese support is only likely to make the situation worse, at least for the country's own people - and their leaders apparently don't care much about that. I think China only tolerates the North Korean leadership's madness, because the alternatives would be worse - for now.
Yeah, well there is always something deeply unsavoury about the way companies try to cash in on a mostly false image of being "green", "healthy" or whatever. Recycling is only ever going to be a superficial excuse for not doing what really should be done: don't produce superfluous rubbish. Just as an illustration: when a 5p charge was introduced on plastic carrier bags in Wales a few years back, it led to a fall in the number of bags used of about 80%. The 5 pence a bag now costs isn't really a heavy burden on people's budgets, so I think it is safe to conclude that this change came about simply because people now think a little bit about whether they need the bag or not - or IOW, at least 80% were superfluous and would probably have gone directly to a landfill. Morale: We can make big changes, even if we give minimal thought to the issue of waste.
The stereotypical dystopian world where people shuffle around without ever looking up is already here. We just didn't know that cameras would be the reason.
In light of the now several terrorist attacks on major, public events, I think the majority of people will welcome this. We are not all paranoid about surveillance - I personally tend to look at cameras with positive interest and sometimes wave at the (potential) guy at the other end. Silly, I know, and no doubt you will call me an idiot or worse, but I know what I am and I am self-assured enough to feel comfortable about it, so what what do I care?
When people go to a football match, perhaps bringing their young child, the last thing they want is a group of hooligans ruining it for everybody with their mindless stupidty; or some worthless tosser with a grievance against society, who decides that getting himself killed after maiming and killing a load of innocent spectators, somehow makes sense or earns him brownie points in eyes of God.
Yeah - why am I not surprised? When I first saw this headline, I thought that this is nothing new; but I think this is part of a coordinated campaign that runs at the moment. I think it was only yesterday I saw another headline saying that salt doesn't cause high blood pressure - despite the fact that the connection is very well established. This is what makes fact-checking so crucial, because there really are these odious interest groups out there, knowingly spreading falsehoods in order to pump up the profits of their employers, and it harms the health and wealth of the entire nation - or now a days, the whole planet. It is remarkable that at present, the only countries that don't suffer from general obesity and cardio-vascular problems, are the ones where the global food companies don't see a profit.
There has been a slow, but steadily increasing approach between China and Europe for the last couple of decades, in many ways: trade agreements, Chinese interest in European education and scientific development, even what could be the first, tenuous signs of political alignment. One of the reasons, in my view, is simply that Europe isn't the US - America has for many years employed a very aggressive rhetoric against China, where Europe has been more moderate, and it does seem to have left a lasting impression. On that background, I don't think it is at all surprising that they will build a Moon base together. I think it is great that China shows leadership and determination in this hugely important area; sure, it stings a bit that we in the West aren't in the lead, but I'm sure the Chinese will allow America to take part, when they are ready to commit to it.
Slashdot Mirror
And you're bringing what to the table with your partisan-baiting rant? Certainly not a serious "argument."
In this case, no arguments, since I agreed with the op, but I thought it was worth adding my comment to the use of 'fake news', since this has already become a nonsense term.
... dare I say "fake news" ...
Well, you just did, didn't you? However, since the howler-monkeys of the alt-right (or -wrong, perhaps?) yell that at every turn of the road, it has become little more than another swear word, so if you want to contribute genuinely to an intelligent discussion (and I think you do), another term might help your argument being taken serious.
Every time somebody raises concerns about the current trends towards hate, distrust, racism and shameless, outright lying, it seems a group of howler monkeys start up, trying to drown out any comment they don't like, using any means they have at hand. I suppose we should all be grateful they generally aren't all that intellectually well-endowed, and that most of it is just meaningless nonsense. It used to upset me, because I genuinely like to have an honest discussion about things and try to cultivate an attitude of being willing to let the arguments and the facts convince me; recently, however, I decided to not care any more. After all, reality is reality, even if people like the alt-right (or should that be 'alt-wrong'?) are too scared to face up to it. In the end, reality will win through - how could it be otherwise?
So, perhaps the best course of action is to withdrow from things, head for the hills, and let the idiots stew in their own shit; and then come back once they have killed off each other. It is certainly tempting to do so. I think those of us that remember our history lessons, will recall that what we see now has been seen before: the fascists in Italy, the nazis in Germany, the falangists in Spain, and the list goes on and on: a small group of ruthless fanatics exploit a large population of people, who feel they have little or no hope and little education, by stirring up shit and bullying anybody that opposes them. It's funny how the world turns - who would have thought, 30 or 40 years ago, that America, the Land of Freedom and Opportunity, would be the next bastion of benighted fascism? And that China would become the beacon of hope? And yet, that is where seem to be going at the moment.
Whether he should be fined or not is none of my business, but the same rules should apply to everybody. If a tasteless joke aboutTrump is to be punished for being 'homophobic' (which it clearly isn't), then how about the black-hearted hate-preachers, like the socalled evangelicals, who keep spewing homophobia, anti-semitism etc every time they open the mouth? Apart from that, the joke in question was only offensive to Trump and his supporters, who are allergic to criticism; well, possibly to gays - I don't think they necessarily want to be associated with Trump.
Compare the French to the Germans, who not only embrace all sorts of languages, it is considered educated to know and use words from other languages in their speech and adopt them into German.
Dateien und Festplattenspeicher?
"Obese" is a well defined, medical term - look it up. I know there is some controversy over how fit for purpose the definition is, but there is no doubt what it means at all. And arguably, whether your BMI is 33 or higher because of an abundance of fat or because of muscles that have been artificially pumped up with hormones, it is likely to affect your health negatively.
... "I guess the S stands for Shit"?
Ah, but that is the selling point, you see, just listen to this wise tale:
In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification;
And the plan was without form, and the specification was void.
And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof;
And they spake unto their leader, saying:
"It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer."
And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader:
"It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof."
And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying:
"It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it."
The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus:
"It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."
The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying:
"It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong."
And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President.
"It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful."
The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed:
"This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!"
And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good.
(http://foldoc.org/SNAFU%20principle)
The best competitve eaters aren't "blubbery blokes".
That was by way of poetic license - "it ain't wrong, if it sounds good" ;-) Why let mere facts stand in the way of a good rant?
We pay to protect you from Russia.
No you don't - your military expenses are solely directed at America's self-interest, so don't be hypocritical, and don't flatter yourself. America, with its blind drive towards excessive consumerism and ruthless self-interest cannot expect the rest of the world to simply follow her down the wrong path.
It is a bizarre fact, that anything that is even vaguely competitive and can be commericalised as a form of entertainment, counts as 'sport' in the US. I think the most eye-watering example of this, so far, is the eating competitions; the sight of blubbery blokes engulfing vast amounts of fast food in the shortest time possible - and being called 'athletes' - sent me straight to the salad bowl for a week. Sport indeed.
I don't actually want to slag off Windows, Microsoft or the people who swear by Microsoft products - but every time I see this kind of news, I'm just so happy I left it behind and moved to Linux. It is strange, and not a little sad, to look back to the time when DOS and Windows were so cool and I thought of Microsoft as pioneers in making computer freedom possible. I used to love programming for Windows 3, as poor ad rickety as it was, but then they started turning the thumbscrews ever harder.
I have no idea whether MS Office gives me any advantages over Open-/LibreOffice, and I don't care. I do know that every time my wife gets into trouble with her MS Office documents, I take them over to Linux and sort them out. And, living in a world of Linux and mathematics, I have discovered LaTeX (not the kind you use for your kinky interests, the kind you use for kinky typesetting), and what a joy that is, especially compared to what is on offer in office programs. I know, you can get that on Windows, but it's just a lot less convenient there.
You guys in America constantly whinge and whine about tax, but I think if you actually tried to look up the numbers, you would find that you are not even close to the top in any conceivable way. But maybe I shouldn't bee too dismissive; in Europe we pay far more in tax, but I think we have reason to feel that we get more back as well, such as universal, public health care and free education - in some countries even up to a masters degree or PhD.
To be fair, the regulations are trying to push a low fat whole grain diet, which I don't believe is actually healthy. Fat is essential for brain development, our kids definitely shouldn't be eating low fat.
The US has the highest proportion of obese children of any rich nation, so lack of fat is probably not what holds back brain development in children in America. And it is not fat in gneral that is essential - it is specific, fatty acids, such as omega-3, not the saturated or hydrogenated fats that processed foods are full of. What most children in the West need more than anything is much less food of a much better quality, and outdoor activities. For Heavens' sake, there are children that die of heart attacks and strokes because of this absurd overeating epidemic that plagues the West - especially the US.
"Molten mass" indeed. Wouldn't you expect, when writing to an audience, that is at least marginally interested in technical and scientific issues, that they would be able to understand (or at least willing to put up with) technical terms? Too many popularisers of science go too far in dumbing down what they write, or perhaps that is their own level of understanding. I find it disrespectful of your audience, when you try to convert everything to baby-language and inept simile. Like that other gripe of mine: why does a large number like 10^18 have to become something like "a million million million"? People who don't understand 10^18 won't have much idea about "a million million million" either - it's just something huge. Stop treating people like they were idiots, please.
He's after the appearance of *trying* to bring jobs back. If he has that, he'll keep his supporters even if the jobs never come.
Up to a point, I expect; the need of a lot of people is very real to them, even if Trump doesn't really know or care, and at some point they will probably begin to realise that he simply isn't going to deliver. It will, of course, always be somebody else's fault, but how long can you really stretch that? Promises that never turn into reality become disappointments, and who knows how angry these people will be when they realise that they have been taken for a ride? Hopefully they will know who to take it out on.
Look here, Trump and his Brilliant A-Team believe in evidence driven science, and as we can see, there is now no evidence and everything is clear, so what's your problem, actually? ;-)
How is it not a problem if a repressive government gets ahead of the west in R&D? Do you like more, or less repressive government and the wrongful imprisonment of dissenters?
You speak of China as if they were the same as North Korea, or worse, which is manifestly untrue. China, in the 60es, was repressive, no doubt, and you could see it in the fall in living standards, but things have turned around in a radical way since then. Have you ever been to China? If you ask anybody whether they think their government is repressive, they will tell you that the government does what it should - that it does what the people wants. As an American you may not like it, but since this is not your country, your opinion doesn't really count. As for China getting ahead of the US: up your game, invest more in proper education. The US is still a bit ahead, but for how long? You are letting it slip through your fingers, playing with silly superstitions.
Again, would you like a militarily aggressive force controlling the moon?
Isn't that more of an argument against the US being present there? Or European nations? Or Russia? In fact, of all the superpowers, China seems to have conducted the fewest wars of aggression in the last few centuries. The West has always had its excuses ready - civilising the savages, rolling back Communism etc, but excuses is all they were. As for controlling the moon - how do you imagine they would do that? Send 100 million Chinese up there to occupy the whole surface? Planting a flag and going "Mine! It's mine I tell you! Mwahahaha!!!"? Even establishing a base similar to one of the Antarctic research stations is going to take decades, no doubt. It will be centuries before any talk of dominating the Moon is remotely relevant.
The right criterium is not how old or old fashioned something is - if it does the job better than something newer, then it is the newer technology that isn't good enough. One of the things about COBOL is that it is in many ways such a simple language, compared to modern ones; the complexity is mostly the very heavy syntax and convoluted attempts at using language that would have been seen as solid, American and business like in the 50es. When you get down to the actual code that does something, it is surprisingly close to assembler in many ways:
ADD NUMBER TO ANOTHERNUMBER. ...
PERFORM PROCEDURE1 25 TIMES.
I think there is very little to optimise from the compiler side, and the lack of advanced syntax may well be a major advantage - business transactions are computationally very simple and mostly only require the things that COBOL does. I think, if one were to seriously replace the language, it should be with something equally simple - a kind of COBOL with a lighter and less convoluted syntax, and it would probably lose the identification and environment division. Things that actually make the code clearer to read would be added, like procedures with parameters, to avoid using global variables etc. Who knows, it may already exist - I haven't used COBOL for decades, and I think I have heard the term 'OBJECT COBOL'.
BMW and Benz are Tesla's competitors. Of course Tesla is gonna want to "service" them as little as possible. What did he expect?
Common decency? Having grown a business, I think it is reasonable to think that he had done the normal due diligence, and that he had reasons to expect that existing deals with his customers would be honoured - it's hard to guess without knowing more details. It is not, in fact unusual for companies to have their competitors as customers; I can how it could have been an advantage for Tesla to own the patents and setting the trends for these technologies for a long time, by licensing them to other car manufacturers. I don't think they simply want to cut off all connections - they just want to squeeze them into a deal that pays more to Tesla.
Success is mostly down to dumb luck: being in the right place at the right time. Things like intelligence, talent and ability have a role to play also. You need to be able to recognise the opportunity when you see it, you needs to have the knowledge and skills to exploit it, and you need to have that feeling of "entitlement" - but there are plenty of people out there with all the skills and talent, who don't make it. If you have worked for any length of time as a software developer, you know this is true, because you have seen how few, upper level managers and CEOs are anything more than moderately intelligent.
the outright theft of IP, to humanitarian concerns regarding political prisoners, religious persecution, Tibet, freedom of navigation in the Global Commons that is the South China Sea, and including their tolerance for the North Korean situation
I think, in so many ways, that it is more than a little sanctimonious, when the US points the finger at others for doing or having done what the US themselves have done or continue to do. IP theft was common practice in the US until the day when it turned out to be more profitable to protect US companies' own IP rights. The LOTR books were (in-)famously printed and sold in the US without Tolkien's permission, until he somehow managed to put a stop to it. And of course, with the widespread opposition to DRM amongst /. readers, IP rights is perhaps a slightly uncomfortable subject any way?
Political prisoners, religious persecution: no doubt there are cases, where China could be much more tolerant of political opposition without endangering the stability of the country, but I think it is wrong to think that every person called "political prisoner" by hostile agancies are not in fact criminals that ought to be locked up. As for religious persecution: apart from Falun Gong and the Tibetan feudal lords, who is being persecuted for their religion now? If we're talking about American evangelicals not being allowed in to preach about how "communism is against God", then I can't see the problem, to be honest; they are nothing more than political agitators tryng to stir up trouble. And again, can we in the West truly accuse China of any of these things without being hypocrites, in the light of things like Muslim-bans etc?
As for Xizang and the South China Sea, I think it is a well-established principle that whatever you can hold on to, belongs to you; it has certainly worked for the US, I think. And Israel, come to think of it. Do I think the world should be as uncivilised as this? No, not really, but it is.
Finally, North Korea is a growing problem and embarrasment for China, as I am sure they are acutely aware. I can't see how anybody can quickly solve that problem without massive loss of life. Sanctions and withdrawal of Chinese support is only likely to make the situation worse, at least for the country's own people - and their leaders apparently don't care much about that. I think China only tolerates the North Korean leadership's madness, because the alternatives would be worse - for now.
Yeah, well there is always something deeply unsavoury about the way companies try to cash in on a mostly false image of being "green", "healthy" or whatever. Recycling is only ever going to be a superficial excuse for not doing what really should be done: don't produce superfluous rubbish. Just as an illustration: when a 5p charge was introduced on plastic carrier bags in Wales a few years back, it led to a fall in the number of bags used of about 80%. The 5 pence a bag now costs isn't really a heavy burden on people's budgets, so I think it is safe to conclude that this change came about simply because people now think a little bit about whether they need the bag or not - or IOW, at least 80% were superfluous and would probably have gone directly to a landfill. Morale: We can make big changes, even if we give minimal thought to the issue of waste.
The stereotypical dystopian world where people shuffle around without ever looking up is already here.
We just didn't know that cameras would be the reason.
In light of the now several terrorist attacks on major, public events, I think the majority of people will welcome this. We are not all paranoid about surveillance - I personally tend to look at cameras with positive interest and sometimes wave at the (potential) guy at the other end. Silly, I know, and no doubt you will call me an idiot or worse, but I know what I am and I am self-assured enough to feel comfortable about it, so what what do I care?
When people go to a football match, perhaps bringing their young child, the last thing they want is a group of hooligans ruining it for everybody with their mindless stupidty; or some worthless tosser with a grievance against society, who decides that getting himself killed after maiming and killing a load of innocent spectators, somehow makes sense or earns him brownie points in eyes of God.
Yeah - why am I not surprised? When I first saw this headline, I thought that this is nothing new; but I think this is part of a coordinated campaign that runs at the moment. I think it was only yesterday I saw another headline saying that salt doesn't cause high blood pressure - despite the fact that the connection is very well established. This is what makes fact-checking so crucial, because there really are these odious interest groups out there, knowingly spreading falsehoods in order to pump up the profits of their employers, and it harms the health and wealth of the entire nation - or now a days, the whole planet. It is remarkable that at present, the only countries that don't suffer from general obesity and cardio-vascular problems, are the ones where the global food companies don't see a profit.
There has been a slow, but steadily increasing approach between China and Europe for the last couple of decades, in many ways: trade agreements, Chinese interest in European education and scientific development, even what could be the first, tenuous signs of political alignment. One of the reasons, in my view, is simply that Europe isn't the US - America has for many years employed a very aggressive rhetoric against China, where Europe has been more moderate, and it does seem to have left a lasting impression. On that background, I don't think it is at all surprising that they will build a Moon base together. I think it is great that China shows leadership and determination in this hugely important area; sure, it stings a bit that we in the West aren't in the lead, but I'm sure the Chinese will allow America to take part, when they are ready to commit to it.