Guilt or innocence is utimately for a jury to decide.
Yes but a jury of your peers. People have forgotten that part. Why should a doctor be tried in front of a jury made of plumbers and truck drivers? Conversely, why should a farmer be tried in front of 12 rich people and business owners? Surely only other doctors understand all the nuances and problems involved with their profession. Surely only rich people understand the problems involved with managing wealth. And surely only poor people understand the plight of the poor.
Ahh but no, "peers" apparently means a group of people dumb enough not to get out of jury duty but smart enough to keep their mouth shut when asked about any possible bias. Oh and the token black/white people.
The Tea Party is the last hope for a government that actually stays in its Constitutional box.
Hahahahaha good luck with that. The Tea party started well, but now it has sort of degenerated into a bunch of lunatics on the republican side of the fence in the minds of most people. While this is not true, politics was never about the truth. The sheep will insist on the two-party system because they don't understand the Tea Party's agenda at all, and the Tea party doesn't have the funding to make enough people aware. It's sort of a catch 22.
Oh and inviting Sarah Palin as a guest speaker was the dumbest thing they could ever have done because this reinforced the (incorrect) association with the republicans. By the way I really don't care, since I am not American nor do I live in the US.
In some countries personal downloading for non-commercial uses is not outlawed. Considering that the US is not the biggest country in the world, I have trouble with "almost exclusively [for illegal purposes]".
businesses as well as goverments SHOULD fear the population.
I just finished watching a video of stampeding bovines at Target, trampling a few people to get a small discount. After seeing something like this, I understand why government and business hold "the people" in such contempt.
I'm also fascinated at how the great revolutions of history actually managed to get started. Perhaps it was because of the lack of things to do in a world without electricity and telecommunications that would lead the people to grumble and unite far sooner. Now it's just bread and circuses, every day. The politicians that get elected are not the smartest people, but the best showmen. So long as people have their Miller lite, their big screen TV's with ESPN and reality shows, their porn, and every now and again they can pretend to vote, they will be happy.
The smart ones among us will just be left to despair - or turn to the dark side and run for public office.
"This is why you run a technical interview before hiring or appointing a spokesperson."
But then again, I don't believe everything I read on the internet, either. This "story" is just another anecdote. For all I know, said "spokesman" actually is the guy who works at Denny's.
Most medical devices are not dangerous if you only open the box, and most are not as sensitive to shipping constraints as radio-isotopes.
I don't know, my thermal transfer paper for my EKG gives people heart attacks and rhythm problems all the time... and all I have to do is push a button. Dangerous stuff, man, keep away from it.
I tried to make sense of your comment and all I understood was "you guys are too dumb to understand, stay the fuck out". Which, I might add, doesn't contribute much to the debate.
Still please tell me - what would happen if anyone could post Steamboat Willie on the internet, or paint the figure of Mickey Mouse on a kindergarten wall without being sued. The world would end, right? How?
I'll concede that point, although today's laws have deviated and perverted so much what was intended that "IP" today bears very little resemblance to what was "protected" 200 or more years ago.
I remember going to museums as a kid and being told that I wasn't allowed to take FLASH pictures because, of course, the repeated flash of thousands of tourists' cameras every day would eventually degrade the pigments in the paintings. Now you are told, with flashless digital cameras because the museum just doesn't want you to, and they'll feed you some completely false copyright or IP garbage as an excuse. I believe the copyright on a Rembrandt expired a long time ago.
I was under the impression, from recent strikes, that script writers barely did get a penny for their work as it is.
But seriously, compare the time and expense of writing the script for a movie, versus actually producing and marketing the movie. Everything is in proportion to the effort involved - or should be anyway. The problem is that human greed very often gets in the way (eg, New Line vs. Peter Jackson for the Lord of the Rings - yeah we actually LOST money on that film that's why we can't pay you...).
I live outside the US and have to pay pretty much 50% customs duty on everything I buy, including from Amazon. So I really don't see what the point is arguing about 6% or so.
You guys have really fucked everyone up with this "Intellectual Property" concept you invented and marketed to the rest of the world.
Now everyone is arguing with everyone else because they somehow believe the delusion that they are the only fucking people in the world to ever have thought of something. And guess who is making a ton of money? The lawyers, of course.
If you have the brains to market your idea (or negotiate with someone who can) then you deserve the profits you'll make. If you just want to be paid because you thought of something, go to hell.
There's a big difference between having a flash of inspiration in the shower, and actually bringing a product to market. There's this notion that patents reward creative people - as if creative people were in short supply. Everyone is more or less creative. Those who get the reward, however, are the ones willing to make the effort to develop their ideas.
they invariably fail to mention shipping costs, which don't exist for direct in-person brick and mortar store purchases.
While you're right, you neglect to mention the (hidden) cost to a customer of driving to a store and back - there's gas, oil, wear and tear on the car, etc. Then there's the time factor. Usually walking back and forth across a parking lot and store and hunting down the thing you want to buy takes a lot longer than a couple mouse clicks. All of that has a cost - you could be doing something else with your time, after all.
So while it may not amount to $20 worth of shipping, the brick and mortar store is not entirely devoid of "additional costs" either. You'd have to subtract those from the shipping costs to get the "real" price difference.
in which the company and its employees enjoy the fruits of local taxes — police and fire protection, roads, hospitals, and other infrastructure that make its operations possible.
And I am sure that those employees pay their federal, state and municipal taxes, as well as sales taxes on just about everything they buy... I'm sorry what was your point again?
Ahh yes, the shameless grabbing of money by idiotic governments so addicted to spending that even the bonds they issue are worth little more than junk. Shame on you. Instead of reaching your hands out for more money like spoiled children, how about making real efforts to cut spending.
There's a law of nature - the more you try to tax, the less money you actually get. People and companies eventually move - out of state, or out of country. It's a simple decision - if the cost of moving is less than the cost of taxes, we move. Careful when you raise the cost of doing business. All the rules, regulations, by laws, and other problems associated with employing people in the US is what is driving business offshore (where things are SIMPLER) to begin with. I really don't see what exactly is anchoring a global company like Amazon specifically to the US. A plunging US dollar may be "good for exports", but it means that the line in the income statement that says "Income from the USA" is actually worth less and less every year.
Well of course if you think that the goal of the game is accumulating ISK, you will do that rather quickly. Some of us have more ambitious projects, like carving out our own territory in null security space. Something like that involves countless billions of ISK and the organization and participation of a thousand players or so on your team. But ok, consider the game "complete" with your 30 million ISK. I make that in under an hour.
And that is when you end up being questioned for a couple of hours
They are not the police or customs, and they have no right to "hold you for questioning". If they unlawfully detain you, without arresting you, without charging you, and cause you to miss your flight, then they owe you a plane ticket. Refusing to buy a ziploc bag is not a crime.
I think it's time to wake up and think about other ways the bastards could get at us.
I think it was Winston Churchill who said "the bomber will always get through". The bad guys always have the initiative. You can bankrupt your country trying to "prevent" all sorts of attack vectors, and they will always use the one you never saw coming.
Slashdot Mirror
False rumors eh? Damn, and I thought they were publishing true rumors.
that the over-all sum of pirated goods
Please demonstrate how you calculate this number.
Guilt or innocence is utimately for a jury to decide.
Yes but a jury of your peers. People have forgotten that part. Why should a doctor be tried in front of a jury made of plumbers and truck drivers? Conversely, why should a farmer be tried in front of 12 rich people and business owners? Surely only other doctors understand all the nuances and problems involved with their profession. Surely only rich people understand the problems involved with managing wealth. And surely only poor people understand the plight of the poor.
Ahh but no, "peers" apparently means a group of people dumb enough not to get out of jury duty but smart enough to keep their mouth shut when asked about any possible bias. Oh and the token black/white people.
The Tea Party is the last hope for a government that actually stays in its Constitutional box.
Hahahahaha good luck with that. The Tea party started well, but now it has sort of degenerated into a bunch of lunatics on the republican side of the fence in the minds of most people. While this is not true, politics was never about the truth. The sheep will insist on the two-party system because they don't understand the Tea Party's agenda at all, and the Tea party doesn't have the funding to make enough people aware. It's sort of a catch 22.
Oh and inviting Sarah Palin as a guest speaker was the dumbest thing they could ever have done because this reinforced the (incorrect) association with the republicans. By the way I really don't care, since I am not American nor do I live in the US.
(let's be honest, almost exclusively)
In some countries personal downloading for non-commercial uses is not outlawed. Considering that the US is not the biggest country in the world, I have trouble with "almost exclusively [for illegal purposes]".
businesses as well as goverments SHOULD fear the population.
I just finished watching a video of stampeding bovines at Target, trampling a few people to get a small discount. After seeing something like this, I understand why government and business hold "the people" in such contempt.
I'm also fascinated at how the great revolutions of history actually managed to get started. Perhaps it was because of the lack of things to do in a world without electricity and telecommunications that would lead the people to grumble and unite far sooner. Now it's just bread and circuses, every day. The politicians that get elected are not the smartest people, but the best showmen. So long as people have their Miller lite, their big screen TV's with ESPN and reality shows, their porn, and every now and again they can pretend to vote, they will be happy.
The smart ones among us will just be left to despair - or turn to the dark side and run for public office.
actively selling fake goods
I was under the impression that you don't have to pay for torrents - that's rather the whole point. Plus the goods aren't fake, they are genuine.
So what was your point again?
This is supposed to be "News for Nerds" - so why link to a Fox News article with almost no technical information whatsoever?
Because slashdot editors just don't give a damn anymore.
"This is why you run a technical interview before hiring or appointing a spokesperson."
But then again, I don't believe everything I read on the internet, either. This "story" is just another anecdote. For all I know, said "spokesman" actually is the guy who works at Denny's.
Most medical devices are not dangerous if you only open the box, and most are not as sensitive to shipping constraints as radio-isotopes.
I don't know, my thermal transfer paper for my EKG gives people heart attacks and rhythm problems all the time... and all I have to do is push a button. Dangerous stuff, man, keep away from it.
I tried to make sense of your comment and all I understood was "you guys are too dumb to understand, stay the fuck out". Which, I might add, doesn't contribute much to the debate.
Still please tell me - what would happen if anyone could post Steamboat Willie on the internet, or paint the figure of Mickey Mouse on a kindergarten wall without being sued. The world would end, right? How?
I'll concede that point, although today's laws have deviated and perverted so much what was intended that "IP" today bears very little resemblance to what was "protected" 200 or more years ago.
I remember going to museums as a kid and being told that I wasn't allowed to take FLASH pictures because, of course, the repeated flash of thousands of tourists' cameras every day would eventually degrade the pigments in the paintings. Now you are told, with flashless digital cameras because the museum just doesn't want you to, and they'll feed you some completely false copyright or IP garbage as an excuse. I believe the copyright on a Rembrandt expired a long time ago.
I was under the impression, from recent strikes, that script writers barely did get a penny for their work as it is.
But seriously, compare the time and expense of writing the script for a movie, versus actually producing and marketing the movie. Everything is in proportion to the effort involved - or should be anyway. The problem is that human greed very often gets in the way (eg, New Line vs. Peter Jackson for the Lord of the Rings - yeah we actually LOST money on that film that's why we can't pay you...).
I live outside the US and have to pay pretty much 50% customs duty on everything I buy, including from Amazon. So I really don't see what the point is arguing about 6% or so.
You guys have really fucked everyone up with this "Intellectual Property" concept you invented and marketed to the rest of the world.
Now everyone is arguing with everyone else because they somehow believe the delusion that they are the only fucking people in the world to ever have thought of something. And guess who is making a ton of money? The lawyers, of course.
If you have the brains to market your idea (or negotiate with someone who can) then you deserve the profits you'll make. If you just want to be paid because you thought of something, go to hell.
There's a big difference between having a flash of inspiration in the shower, and actually bringing a product to market. There's this notion that patents reward creative people - as if creative people were in short supply. Everyone is more or less creative. Those who get the reward, however, are the ones willing to make the effort to develop their ideas.
I hate to say this, but the only funding any govt organization gets is from the taxpayer.
Well perhaps if they didn't burn through cash so quickly, they wouldn't be so desperate for funding.
they invariably fail to mention shipping costs, which don't exist for direct in-person brick and mortar store purchases.
While you're right, you neglect to mention the (hidden) cost to a customer of driving to a store and back - there's gas, oil, wear and tear on the car, etc. Then there's the time factor. Usually walking back and forth across a parking lot and store and hunting down the thing you want to buy takes a lot longer than a couple mouse clicks. All of that has a cost - you could be doing something else with your time, after all.
So while it may not amount to $20 worth of shipping, the brick and mortar store is not entirely devoid of "additional costs" either. You'd have to subtract those from the shipping costs to get the "real" price difference.
in which the company and its employees enjoy the fruits of local taxes — police and fire protection, roads, hospitals, and other infrastructure that make its operations possible.
And I am sure that those employees pay their federal, state and municipal taxes, as well as sales taxes on just about everything they buy... I'm sorry what was your point again?
Ahh yes, the shameless grabbing of money by idiotic governments so addicted to spending that even the bonds they issue are worth little more than junk. Shame on you. Instead of reaching your hands out for more money like spoiled children, how about making real efforts to cut spending.
There's a law of nature - the more you try to tax, the less money you actually get. People and companies eventually move - out of state, or out of country. It's a simple decision - if the cost of moving is less than the cost of taxes, we move. Careful when you raise the cost of doing business. All the rules, regulations, by laws, and other problems associated with employing people in the US is what is driving business offshore (where things are SIMPLER) to begin with. I really don't see what exactly is anchoring a global company like Amazon specifically to the US. A plunging US dollar may be "good for exports", but it means that the line in the income statement that says "Income from the USA" is actually worth less and less every year.
Bad guys (tm) can use drones too. Let the drone wars begin.
I'm sure the Nigerian prince has diplomatic immunity. Besides, I'm getting 100,000,000,000,000 dollars in the mail soon.
Hasn't someone told you that here on slashdot we only understand car analogies? Get out of here, and take your damned houses with you!
Not to mention the fact that DNA has this tendency to mutate.
"Gee I really don't know why the sales figures have fallen, I could have sworn they were normal last night when I wrote this presentation!"
Well of course if you think that the goal of the game is accumulating ISK, you will do that rather quickly. Some of us have more ambitious projects, like carving out our own territory in null security space. Something like that involves countless billions of ISK and the organization and participation of a thousand players or so on your team. But ok, consider the game "complete" with your 30 million ISK. I make that in under an hour.
And that is when you end up being questioned for a couple of hours
They are not the police or customs, and they have no right to "hold you for questioning". If they unlawfully detain you, without arresting you, without charging you, and cause you to miss your flight, then they owe you a plane ticket. Refusing to buy a ziploc bag is not a crime.
I think it's time to wake up and think about other ways the bastards could get at us.
I think it was Winston Churchill who said "the bomber will always get through". The bad guys always have the initiative. You can bankrupt your country trying to "prevent" all sorts of attack vectors, and they will always use the one you never saw coming.