Alright I'll grant that if they have PGP then their email won't be read. But by the very reason of it being encrypted will be enough for them to get jailed. This isn't a democratic government, they don't need a reason to lock them away.
Interesting. You advocate the very tactics that the Chinese government uses. Very interesting. Hypocritical as well. Uh, he's not saying gun the guy down in the streets or drive over him in a tank, he's just saying to moderate the guy.
Much like we can't ask the victims at Kent State, right? Yeah, they were doing the same thing. Conducting a peaceful protest when they were gunned down. Last I checked there were only a few people killed at Kent State. This was a horrible thing but no where near what happened in China.
Partially true. This guy made it all the way out of the United States (with his partner and the money) and was gone for months. He left behind his wife of fifteen years and their children. He was for all intents and purposes home free. Then he decided that he wanted to see Disneyworld. Some employee in his motel recognized his face and turned him in. So essentially he was smart enough to get away but made a error in going to Disneyworld. I mean if you want to go to the Magic Kingdom that bad why not just go to EuroDisney? As a side note him and his partner managed to spend over two million in the time they were free.
I would think that a smart person would realize how hard it would be to steal the money and get away with it and not do it then someone who is just marginally intelligent and did steal and got caught later. After all why hire someone who is going to rip you off if, even if you get your goods back, when it's going to cause really bad press and higher insurance for you?
Oh my God it's a G.I. Joe action figure gun! Expel him! (yes this happened).
That's why you set limits (hopefully intelligent ones) on crime. So what you are essentially saying is if you take a pen from work then you should be locked away in prison with murders and rapists. And it's a vast difference between the theft of a shirt and the theft of a Mustang.
And then there's the fact that if you steal something over $50 (at least around here) it's a felony. This probably made sense when it was passed and $50 was a huge amount but it seems harsh to ruin some stupid kids record because he tried to steal a Tommy Hilfiger shirt.
Why do people trust these background checks and pre-employment tests so much? Whatever happened to a good old intesive face to face interview?
As an example I took a test to be hired by a armored car company several years ago. It was to be one in a series of tests and background checks (including a polygraph) that a person had to go through to get employement with this company. To make a long story short I was told that the test said that I was, in this order, too smart and possibly dishonest. A short time later one of their own employees, presumably having passed all these tests, stole over $7mil from one of their trucks in broad daylight at a major interstate rest stop and got away with it (caught by his own stupidity several months later).
Just because someone passes these tests and checks doesn't mean that they won't rip you off or comprise your business. It does give a basis but relying on it too heavily is a sure way to get screwed.
They're controlling what people want? How? Mind waves? Sure, they'd be thrilled if I would pony up money for the Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, or Brittany Spears... but I'm not. If you don't like the music being offered, don't buy it.
Yes, the corporations are using advertising and such to push them but that doesn't mean that you have to buy the product. I've seen ads for tuna fish with cute talking fish and such. I haven't rushed out and bought it though (I hate tuna).
I've said it once and I'll say it again. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy something. You can even say that the saturation of the advertising is forcing people to buy it or want it but then you're just making a argument for a weak willed person who can't say no or make up their own minds just because it's thrust in their face on a regular basis.
To sum up: People do what they want for their own self interest. They buy music because they want to (for whatever reason).
And as a side thought why not try and make a go of a different mode of distrubition or just a new tack on the old model. Invest in some good recording equipment and a rack of CD burners and make the music you think people will like. Distribute it over the internet, go to concerts and sell it, talk to local record stores and get them to carry it, charge people a few cents a song to listen to it online or download it off your servers etc. If you have a good product then you will be rewarded for your efforts. Try and put into practice the alternate methods of distrubtion that you read about all the time. See if it really works. Be prepared for some of them to fail. You never know. One of them might work out unbelievably well and make you rich. You never know. In the end people will remember you for what you did not what you said.
Yes, but ask yourself this question. Which one of these are you more proud to say: 1) Well, I work the register at McDonalds for a living. 2) Well, I program computers for a living.
Money isn't everything, but it would be nice to keep more after taxes.
Justification: Liberace and Micheal Jackson both did something people wanted, therefore the people paid them money to do it.
This money didn't just magically appear out of thin air and drop into their laps. People gave it to them (through various methods). Just like you pay a plumber or a electrician to do work for you the same goes for entertainers. They are doing work for you so you pay them to do it. If you don't like them then you either don't pay them to begin with (references) or you don't pay them to do it again (poor work) or you even get your money back (really bad work).
Wouldn't making computers illegal be a violation of the First Amendemnt? You could argue that they are the pretty much the same as type set and printing press equipment and freedom of the press is worthless without these things. Honestly I'm suprised someone hasn't tried yet or maybe force some kind of license on them though.
No one will enter a field where they don't have a chance of making a good living? What about fast food workers? What about ditch diggers? What about sewer workers? All of these are low paying bad jobs yet they never lack for people to enter them.
And before you say that fast food is just a bunch of teenagers... wrong. I've worked for several *shudder* and the bulk of the long term crew was over 25 years in age. There were some teenagers but they were generally in and out before you could blink. The fact of the matter is that crappy jobs have been with us forever and will continue to be with us. It gives employment to the under-educated, someone who screwed up and/or the lazy. For those who are undereducated or screwed up (or both) then it at least gives them the diginity of a job and a paycheck.
Why not? If the "I got here first" approach isn't important then answer me this. Who was the second person to reach the north/south pole, who was the second person to cross the Atlantic solo, and who was the second person to come up with E=MC2?
Yes, someone might have come up with it later but the fact of the matter is that this person thought of it first. Just like we reward people who reach objects or do things first we reward people for thinking of things faster. Now this person who might think of it second can take what the first person did and expand on it and get there own copyright/patent if what they expand on is orginal.
And it's not like the thought is automatically patented as it comes out of the persons mind. They have to put it down and take it in and have it covered. If they want they can put it in the public domain for all to use. There are other options but some people like to get rewarded for there actions and some people are saints. It's that simple.
Federally mandated digital signatures will make my identity more secure. I will be able to PROVE that I didn't sign that credit card application, so I don't owe money for the bill.
Really? What happens when someone steals your keys and starts making copies and handing them out as party favors? This isn't any different from a handwritten signature except that it can be less secure if you don't pay attention. The only difference is that you can submit papers with your signature on them digitally.
Actually I thought Hubbard was terrible. I read the entire Mission Earth series (God only knows why) and swore never to read any more of his work. I'm thinking of making a exception for Dianetics if for no other reason then I want to see what it's about. As for Stranger... read it. Several times. Oh who am I kidding, read it more times then I can count. And I still stand behind at least Crichton. Jurrasic Park, Andromeda Strain (although the ending pissed me off), Rising Sun, and Eaters of the Dead (for weirdness if nothing else) were good. As for Clancy and Grisham it get's people reading if nothing else. Nothing wrong with that but I think I get your point about populist authors.
As for schmuck it's some Yiddish curse word and I can't remember what it means for the life of me.
Call me a schmuk but I like Clancy, Crichton and Grisham. And yes they are literary giants... of our times. While I wouldn't hold them against Dickens or Poe they aren't bad writers. As for the movie directors... they are pretty bad.
Even Gibson admits the Cyberspace trilogy was overly dark. It's one of the reasons that his second trilogy (I have no clue as to the name; Virutal Light, Idoru and All Tomorrows Parties) were more upbeat.
I agree on that one. If he had said something about the Cyberpunk game I would say "Hmmm ok." But Shadowrun? I haven't noticed any dragons, elfs, orcs, etc running around. I think he went with the Shadowrun thing because of the name. It's not over used like Cyberpunk.
There's far, far more free-floating existential angst around these days than there ever was when we were hunting and gathering in small tribal societies.
You can prove this? How do you know that these people weren't miserable? The only way you could argue they weren't is the fact that they didn't know a different life so they couldn't be angst ridden about it.
As for obese Americans... yes that's not incredibly heathly but you don't see them keeling over at thirty or forty from smallpox, the common cold, or the flu do you? We really are better off then we once were. We're better educated, wealthier, and healthier. If I had to chose a time in history to be alive it would be right here and now.
Oh I fully intend to drag them to court and maybe the wrecker company that has the car. I was posting as a example of what landlords will do if given the chance.
Here's a couple reasons not to rent or lease. The first of course is you don't own it. You can't do anything to it, you are enriching someone else yet getting little back in return and you live by your landlord (or their managers) whims. If they want to enter your apartment for any reason they can. Sure, legally they have to give notice (at least here) unless it's a emergency but be honest people, they can come up with one if they want. Just as you wouldn't give someone the password to your accounts and system you shouldn't be allowing anyone the access to your personal space.
I haven't been driving my car for several weeks now (V-8; gas way too expensive). The other day I walked out and say that my car was gone. I called the police and told them that I thought it had been stolen. I called the apartment to let them know that this had happened. At that point they tell me it had been towed because people had been complaining about parking and the tire had gone flat. No warning on it. When I asked for them to please return it and pay any fees involved I got a copy of my lease with a one word note ("Read your lease") and the passage highlighted that said "Manager retains the right to remove any vehicle for any reason they deem appropriate." Now I'm looking at hundreds of dollars in fees to get it out of impound.
That is the most compelling agurment to own your property. If this had happened anywhere else it would be theft (taking something that isn't yours) and extortion (demanding money for something that was taken), but since it's a rental property it's just business as usual. Needless to say I'm searching for a place to own now.
If you say that you can't afford a down payment then just think about how much you have to put down in deposits and then realize that many areas have programs to help with the down payment and closing costs. The same goes for a car. Own it, dont' rent or lease it. At least when you own something you can get sell it and get some if not all of your money back.
(Yes, I should have given a rant warning on this one...)
I should have explained a little more. There is a vast difference between having a newspaper print that you are a drunkard or a drug addict or cheating on your spouse etc. and some kid putting up a website insulting people. Do the teachers of this school really care that much about what one of their students is saying?
I wasn't going against the kid. I think that he has the right to speak his mind and according to the story has proof for everything he said. If he believes it to be true then he's not libeling. He might have to apoligize if someone proves him wrong but libel is a long shot. I see a counter-suit coming from this kids friends who were slandered by the school paper (see the story)... and I say more power to them. I've noticed that in school as long as you toe the line for the admistrators you can get away with a lot. Be different (as this kid was) and you're going to get slapped down (or in this case suspended, arrested, have your computer stolen by the police, and shipped out of state).
Slashdot Mirror
Alright I'll grant that if they have PGP then their email won't be read. But by the very reason of it being encrypted will be enough for them to get jailed. This isn't a democratic government, they don't need a reason to lock them away.
Interesting. You advocate the very tactics that the Chinese government uses. Very interesting. Hypocritical as well.
Uh, he's not saying gun the guy down in the streets or drive over him in a tank, he's just saying to moderate the guy.
Much like we can't ask the victims at Kent State, right? Yeah, they were doing the same thing. Conducting a peaceful protest when they were gunned down.
Last I checked there were only a few people killed at Kent State. This was a horrible thing but no where near what happened in China.
Partially true. This guy made it all the way out of the United States (with his partner and the money) and was gone for months. He left behind his wife of fifteen years and their children. He was for all intents and purposes home free. Then he decided that he wanted to see Disneyworld. Some employee in his motel recognized his face and turned him in. So essentially he was smart enough to get away but made a error in going to Disneyworld. I mean if you want to go to the Magic Kingdom that bad why not just go to EuroDisney? As a side note him and his partner managed to spend over two million in the time they were free.
I would think that a smart person would realize how hard it would be to steal the money and get away with it and not do it then someone who is just marginally intelligent and did steal and got caught later. After all why hire someone who is going to rip you off if, even if you get your goods back, when it's going to cause really bad press and higher insurance for you?
Oh my God it's a G.I. Joe action figure gun! Expel him! (yes this happened).
That's why you set limits (hopefully intelligent ones) on crime. So what you are essentially saying is if you take a pen from work then you should be locked away in prison with murders and rapists. And it's a vast difference between the theft of a shirt and the theft of a Mustang.
And then there's the fact that if you steal something over $50 (at least around here) it's a felony. This probably made sense when it was passed and $50 was a huge amount but it seems harsh to ruin some stupid kids record because he tried to steal a Tommy Hilfiger shirt.
Why do people trust these background checks and pre-employment tests so much? Whatever happened to a good old intesive face to face interview?
As an example I took a test to be hired by a armored car company several years ago. It was to be one in a series of tests and background checks (including a polygraph) that a person had to go through to get employement with this company. To make a long story short I was told that the test said that I was, in this order, too smart and possibly dishonest. A short time later one of their own employees, presumably having passed all these tests, stole over $7mil from one of their trucks in broad daylight at a major interstate rest stop and got away with it (caught by his own stupidity several months later).
Just because someone passes these tests and checks doesn't mean that they won't rip you off or comprise your business. It does give a basis but relying on it too heavily is a sure way to get screwed.
Well matey that's exactly what we are doing.
Great! Good luck in your endeavours.
They're controlling what people want? How? Mind waves? Sure, they'd be thrilled if I would pony up money for the Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, or Brittany Spears... but I'm not. If you don't like the music being offered, don't buy it.
Yes, the corporations are using advertising and such to push them but that doesn't mean that you have to buy the product. I've seen ads for tuna fish with cute talking fish and such. I haven't rushed out and bought it though (I hate tuna).
I've said it once and I'll say it again. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy something. You can even say that the saturation of the advertising is forcing people to buy it or want it but then you're just making a argument for a weak willed person who can't say no or make up their own minds just because it's thrust in their face on a regular basis.
To sum up: People do what they want for their own self interest. They buy music because they want to (for whatever reason).
And as a side thought why not try and make a go of a different mode of distrubition or just a new tack on the old model. Invest in some good recording equipment and a rack of CD burners and make the music you think people will like. Distribute it over the internet, go to concerts and sell it, talk to local record stores and get them to carry it, charge people a few cents a song to listen to it online or download it off your servers etc. If you have a good product then you will be rewarded for your efforts. Try and put into practice the alternate methods of distrubtion that you read about all the time. See if it really works. Be prepared for some of them to fail. You never know. One of them might work out unbelievably well and make you rich. You never know. In the end people will remember you for what you did not what you said.
Yes, but ask yourself this question. Which one of these are you more proud to say:
1) Well, I work the register at McDonalds for a living.
2) Well, I program computers for a living.
Money isn't everything, but it would be nice to keep more after taxes.
Justification: Liberace and Micheal Jackson both did something people wanted, therefore the people paid them money to do it.
This money didn't just magically appear out of thin air and drop into their laps. People gave it to them (through various methods). Just like you pay a plumber or a electrician to do work for you the same goes for entertainers. They are doing work for you so you pay them to do it. If you don't like them then you either don't pay them to begin with (references) or you don't pay them to do it again (poor work) or you even get your money back (really bad work).
Wouldn't making computers illegal be a violation of the First Amendemnt? You could argue that they are the pretty much the same as type set and printing press equipment and freedom of the press is worthless without these things. Honestly I'm suprised someone hasn't tried yet or maybe force some kind of license on them though.
No one will enter a field where they don't have a chance of making a good living? What about fast food workers? What about ditch diggers? What about sewer workers? All of these are low paying bad jobs yet they never lack for people to enter them.
And before you say that fast food is just a bunch of teenagers... wrong. I've worked for several *shudder* and the bulk of the long term crew was over 25 years in age. There were some teenagers but they were generally in and out before you could blink. The fact of the matter is that crappy jobs have been with us forever and will continue to be with us. It gives employment to the under-educated, someone who screwed up and/or the lazy. For those who are undereducated or screwed up (or both) then it at least gives them the diginity of a job and a paycheck.
Why not? If the "I got here first" approach isn't important then answer me this. Who was the second person to reach the north/south pole, who was the second person to cross the Atlantic solo, and who was the second person to come up with E=MC2?
Yes, someone might have come up with it later but the fact of the matter is that this person thought of it first. Just like we reward people who reach objects or do things first we reward people for thinking of things faster. Now this person who might think of it second can take what the first person did and expand on it and get there own copyright/patent if what they expand on is orginal.
And it's not like the thought is automatically patented as it comes out of the persons mind. They have to put it down and take it in and have it covered. If they want they can put it in the public domain for all to use. There are other options but some people like to get rewarded for there actions and some people are saints. It's that simple.
Federally mandated digital signatures will make my identity more secure. I will be able to PROVE that I didn't sign that credit card application, so I don't owe money for the bill.
Really? What happens when someone steals your keys and starts making copies and handing them out as party favors? This isn't any different from a handwritten signature except that it can be less secure if you don't pay attention. The only difference is that you can submit papers with your signature on them digitally.
Actually I thought Hubbard was terrible. I read the entire Mission Earth series (God only knows why) and swore never to read any more of his work. I'm thinking of making a exception for Dianetics if for no other reason then I want to see what it's about. As for Stranger... read it. Several times. Oh who am I kidding, read it more times then I can count. And I still stand behind at least Crichton. Jurrasic Park, Andromeda Strain (although the ending pissed me off), Rising Sun, and Eaters of the Dead (for weirdness if nothing else) were good. As for Clancy and Grisham it get's people reading if nothing else. Nothing wrong with that but I think I get your point about populist authors.
As for schmuck it's some Yiddish curse word and I can't remember what it means for the life of me.
Call me a schmuk but I like Clancy, Crichton and Grisham. And yes they are literary giants... of our times. While I wouldn't hold them against Dickens or Poe they aren't bad writers. As for the movie directors... they are pretty bad.
Even Gibson admits the Cyberspace trilogy was overly dark. It's one of the reasons that his second trilogy (I have no clue as to the name; Virutal Light, Idoru and All Tomorrows Parties) were more upbeat.
And if I remember correctly Texas has the legal right to leave the U.S. and form it's own nation again written into it's constitution.
I agree on that one. If he had said something about the Cyberpunk game I would say "Hmmm ok." But Shadowrun? I haven't noticed any dragons, elfs, orcs, etc running around. I think he went with the Shadowrun thing because of the name. It's not over used like Cyberpunk.
If I remember correctly Snow Crash was a bestseller and I think Cryptonomicon went on to be one as well.
There's far, far more free-floating existential angst around these days than there ever was when we were hunting and gathering in small tribal societies.
You can prove this? How do you know that these people weren't miserable? The only way you could argue they weren't is the fact that they didn't know a different life so they couldn't be angst ridden about it.
As for obese Americans... yes that's not incredibly heathly but you don't see them keeling over at thirty or forty from smallpox, the common cold, or the flu do you? We really are better off then we once were. We're better educated, wealthier, and healthier. If I had to chose a time in history to be alive it would be right here and now.
Oh I fully intend to drag them to court and maybe the wrecker company that has the car. I was posting as a example of what landlords will do if given the chance.
You also forgot living longer and healthier.
Here's a couple reasons not to rent or lease. The first of course is you don't own it. You can't do anything to it, you are enriching someone else yet getting little back in return and you live by your landlord (or their managers) whims. If they want to enter your apartment for any reason they can. Sure, legally they have to give notice (at least here) unless it's a emergency but be honest people, they can come up with one if they want. Just as you wouldn't give someone the password to your accounts and system you shouldn't be allowing anyone the access to your personal space.
I haven't been driving my car for several weeks now (V-8; gas way too expensive). The other day I walked out and say that my car was gone. I called the police and told them that I thought it had been stolen. I called the apartment to let them know that this had happened. At that point they tell me it had been towed because people had been complaining about parking and the tire had gone flat. No warning on it. When I asked for them to please return it and pay any fees involved I got a copy of my lease with a one word note ("Read your lease") and the passage highlighted that said "Manager retains the right to remove any vehicle for any reason they deem appropriate." Now I'm looking at hundreds of dollars in fees to get it out of impound.
That is the most compelling agurment to own your property. If this had happened anywhere else it would be theft (taking something that isn't yours) and extortion (demanding money for something that was taken), but since it's a rental property it's just business as usual. Needless to say I'm searching for a place to own now.
If you say that you can't afford a down payment then just think about how much you have to put down in deposits and then realize that many areas have programs to help with the down payment and closing costs. The same goes for a car. Own it, dont' rent or lease it. At least when you own something you can get sell it and get some if not all of your money back.
(Yes, I should have given a rant warning on this one...)
I should have explained a little more. There is a vast difference between having a newspaper print that you are a drunkard or a drug addict or cheating on your spouse etc. and some kid putting up a website insulting people. Do the teachers of this school really care that much about what one of their students is saying?
I wasn't going against the kid. I think that he has the right to speak his mind and according to the story has proof for everything he said. If he believes it to be true then he's not libeling. He might have to apoligize if someone proves him wrong but libel is a long shot. I see a counter-suit coming from this kids friends who were slandered by the school paper (see the story)... and I say more power to them. I've noticed that in school as long as you toe the line for the admistrators you can get away with a lot. Be different (as this kid was) and you're going to get slapped down (or in this case suspended, arrested, have your computer stolen by the police, and shipped out of state).