It's been so long since they down-graded from deep dark fair traded eco organica cacao that I have not been able to by the full brand like I used to. MInd you, certain KDE apps I still find quite useful: konqueror, yakuake, kate, k3b, konversation etc. but I do miss the days when KDE rocked my desktop.
That's useful information about extra channels and community powered repositories, but then I'd be piece-mealing together what debian does by default wouldn't I? Part of my point is that debian makes it easier by default.
Using rpmfind.net is a pain particularly gathering together all the necessary parts when there are dependencies. Really a cave-manish way of doing things.
tar and make are very well known to me and I avoid them as an administrator whenever I can. That's because they don't make security and package updates easy do they? Compiling from source has its place when a particular app simply doesn't have a package or one needs a custom compiled version of some piece of software but it does require more administrative effort. In fact, that's what one has to do with RHEL 5 and derivatives wrt to Perl because Red Hat has a bug with their packaged perl that really sucks ass. i.e. can slow apps by 30-100 times. Wonder where their support has been for that package bug that reportedly has been around since 2006?
Interesting you pick the "commercial" linuxes as good for real-world server skills and list debian as good for desktop. My experience would say debian spanks red hat for ease of server admin, particularly if you want access to more packages to help you do your job. For instance, say you want to install shorewall as a firewall, slony1 for postgresql database replication or ntop for network monitoring. Is redhat repository going to help you with that? No, at least not in my experience. On top of that the debian package manager reliability and repository options make Red Hat smell like the armpit of Redmond.
My opinion is that those who've done some sys. admin and had a choice steer away from red hat and choose or migrate to something like debian, slackware, BSD or even ubuntu server. If I had to use redhat, I'd try to migrate to CentOS, but even they are reliant upon the master as is fedora and when the master is driven by a for-profit board of directores chances are you're not going to get what's in your best interest as a sys. admin.
interesting, with a little research it's infantile to demonstrate that you're spewing sewage like so many flag waivers and U.S.A. chanters. I see at wikipedia that several countries that have achieved positive progress towards emission reduction while North America is belching out more filth than anywhere. The U.S. opted out simply they don't want to be accountable to anyone. On top of that Canada has made progress so the fat finger points at the united at gun points states of stolen america. Yes we're the biggest polluting, energy consuming and ego tripping nation that perhaps has ever existed. It seems so many people can't look at their own wrong-doings in the mirror, self-reflection is just too hard for these simpletons, and that is how the un-united stateless wannabe nation acts to a T. Fear is the trump card of many power hungry politicians. Wealth does not come about without taking the finite resources from somebody else. At least give a nod or bow a head in thanks for the plushness we live in, then take a deep look at how increduously self-centerd and feel as if it's our god given right to fuck up the world with abandon. As someone early in the post said, we will devour the earth and quite frankly it could happen _in_ this lifetime unless we wake up real quick.
yeah, like there was some god given right to do what was done, that's called using god in a rationalization sort of way to justify one's greed for taking something somebody else already has (at the very least) a partial stake in. america was built on blood-shed, plain and simple. i owe nothing to this country but compassion for its sequence of disgraceful events.
I don't consider myself an american, but rather i was born on the soil of the first nations people, that was (you guessed it) stolen by wannabe americans. America, as most empires, has always been about taken whatever the fuck they want because they got the bigger guns. Americans consume more energy per capita, by a long shot, than any other nation. We not only pollute we kill people to support our habits. We're insanely strapped to creature comforts. Yes, the U.S. and most people are good at pointing the finger elsewhere. I'm pointing it directly at a nation that wants to claim me as their property. Fuck that, I am a one man nation. If you can't see the atrocity of the the U.S. then you're either intellectually blind or ignorant. Not that the U.S. is alone, but we have our dirty little finger in just about everything. Who the hell consumes the bulk of chinese exports? Duhhhh, it's US. Do our corporations give a shit if china is polluting the like 1950's US while the CEO is buying his fifth fuking mansion? Hell no. We are responsable not only for our pollution but a lot of the chinese's as well. So quit buying so much cheap crap from Wallie-world and all the other US conglomerates that are responsable for chinese pollution as well as US. And don't even get me started about oil companies and cars, if you can't build a zero-emission car the don't build it. If you can't control your environmental waste then don't do it. Please, trying to say the oil companies are really trying is like saying the Pope isn't catholic. Why do we spend money on clean up, because we created a big mess, and often times its companies that have created messes that get paid to clean them up. That's good old american way there. Well I just quit the company that fucked over its stock holders and go work in an advisory role for the government, advising on the very shit I fucked up. Damn are we stupid or what? Go stick your oil mongering head on a tail-pipe and then tell me if your oil companies and car companies are not killing every fucking day.
Bring it.
I agree in that one really shouldn't judge themselves too heavily as to how they are seen in the eyes of others. This would imply that even a foreigner shouldn't concern themselves too much about how U.S. citizens think of them, but I think you're on to something when you say they should be more worried about what we think of them. They should be worried that we'll blow them up for some stupid reason or we'll invade them based on lies. Our we'll try to control their media which may speak critically of the U.S. Or mabye that if they don't go along with the hypocrisy of a democracy they will be sanctioned. All tactics of an immature nation which is exactly what we are. I can provide a multitude of further examples such as the idea of "Let's not forget when we were offended, but let's forget as quick as we can when we offend others." Do we have dates to remember the First Nations people we slaughtered, stoled from and down right lied to time and time again? Do we have dates to remember the Africans we forced into slavery? Do we have dates to honor the underaged laborers? Columbus was responible for many deaths, and we have a national holiday for the guy. That again shows our bully-headed immaturity as a nation. Do we remember the students that were unloaded upon for a peaceful demonstration? Yeah, you're right the foreigner should be scared, not because they are innocent of many of the crimes (I'm sure they have done many), but because we carry the big guns. No wonder why we don't want Iran to have Nukes, then they would have the power to tell us to shut-up.
No matter how much the Latin types insist that they are "americanos" too, nobody outside Latin America pays them the least attention. Nor should they.
I see ccmay is ego-tripping again. No wonder why so many outside of the U.S. see it as a bully-headed nation. This trend is directly related to the juvenile attitude of the current mis-administration with respect to foreign policy. Sure we'll dialog with you as long as you go along with us. The minute you see things differently, we'll turn our back on you and cover our ears and spew "You're either with us or against us". Wow that really is progress and leaves a lot of room for diversity of opinions.
In the eye of God, no life is more valuable than any other be it an iraquian fighting for their life or an american soldier trying to protect hers.
See for yourself the increasing negative opinion of the U.S. at http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/ or just ask a few people outside the U.S. for their opinion.
When the right has proven wrong, is there nothing left but the left?
Personally, I don't align myself in such simpleton ways of right/left or liberal/conservative in part because these monikers are misleading. Of course its quite possible that the "right" will cling dearly to theirs because, imho, calling it "right" somehow soothes the ego. Another reason I avoid self-application of these labels is that it's erroneously over-simplified pigeon-holing.
As for mercy, the only kind I ask for is from god and She will deliver it as she sees fit.
The ring of truth cuts through the crap like a sharp-edged knife. Thanks for calling it like it is. Even if it's a bit depressing, it keeps the revolution fueled. The shadow has been growing for some time, but the light shines brighest in the darkest hour. Power to the peaceful.
I agree, Living life by justifying shitty actions with the "well other people do it" is just plain lame.
the forces of evil act in more and more subtle ways,
but a trained ninja warrior can detect them. In fact
it doesn't take much training at all, mostly desire and
the willingness to question your own motives. Do you like
your OS of choice because of shiny silicone wrapped packages
that come periodically feeding your pavlovian appetite to
push the pellet lever again, or do you seek movement up the
pyramid of self-slactualization and choose your OS because of
the freedom, flexibility, power, sustainable ad infinitum...
PS
If someone doesn't make a play off of shiny silicone, I'll be
really disappointed, fills de putes.
Thank you L. Chin for you thoughtful piece on US foreign policy concerning Somalia and other situations. Most Americans do not take the time to research US foreign policy. I have been guilty of that until more recently. US foreign policy and US corporate law are boring topics that don't draw the interest of the general public, but they are very important and have very important consequences on us.
Americans seek news, but unfortunately we rely on being spoon fed news by highly filtered media sources such as corporate controlled news casts and papers. In the interest of these entities the truth is often not being told. Then when you mention someone like Noam Chomsky, people are in an uproar because the media giants that spoon feed us call him a radical, when the man speaks from facts that we dont' want to hear. Please people, do your research.
Let me follow up that little rant with some facts:
In the 1980's Reagan called Osma Bin Laden (and other similar types) the modern equivalent of American's Founding Fathers. This is when they were recruited by the US to do our dirty work against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Osma Bin Laden wanted to remove foreign occupation, just like we wanted to remove British rule from America. Sounds pretty legitimate to me.
Now when the gulf war came about the US persuaded Saudia Arabia to allow US troops on their soil. This was the first time non-Arabic troops were allowed there. They were placed there to fight the threat of Saddam Hussein (another interesting story when you consider the US originally supported Saddam when he did what they wanted). With the Gulf war won, the US troops need not hang around the holy land of Saudia Arabia, but they did. This being Osma Bin Laden's home country, he wanted them out. Bingo - Bin Laden is now the enemy of the US because he doesn't agree with the foreign occupation. Wow he goes from being called the equivalent of a Founder Father of America to public enemy number 1. Hmmm... I smell something fishy.
Now let's consider the current "justifiable" war on terrorism. Even if Bin Laden is guilty:
Has the US shown any real evidence Osma Bin Laden is guilty?
Has the US tried to use an international court of law to address the issue?
The US has killed more innocent people in Afghanistan then were killed in NY
The US military leads us to think they hit the targets when they miss often enough to warrant very serious concern.
The real story of covert operations is very difficult to obtain which is a good reason (for the military) to keep them covert so we dont' know what the truth is and it makes it easier to do bad things without being accountable.
The US provides five billion dollars of military aid to Israel per year since the Camp David Peace accords. Since that time Israel has taken (with force) much property away form Palenstine and when the Palenstinians want it back (with force) they are labeled terrorist. Is that not the classic Kettle calling the Pot Black. Furthermore, the US rationalizes its military aid to Israel saying they need to protect themselves from the armed enemies around them. Well guess where 80% of the arms for the enemies came from -- Good Old US of A
I could go on and on, but by now you might see my point is that we are very ill-informed. We have been dumbed down with highly biased, spoon-fed media. Americans are smart but we're not getting enough good sources of information. Try bringing all sides of the equations into the picture before taking sides. Use alternative news sources such a Alternative Radio (alternativeradio.org) to find out what pieces might be missing from main stream media.
As an exercise for the reader, try to find a definition of terrorism that is not biased to the West or that does not attempt to stir emotions. It's difficult to find an objective definition in part because the US would be guilty of it in Palenstine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicarugua, Libya and elsewhere.
If your feeling angst about what to do, IMHO, the most effective way to address the situation is to employ Satyagraha (or non-violent active resistance). Gandhi has developed a beautifully effectvie recipe, and others after him have used it such as Dr.Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement.
As one of our founding father said, "A rebellious spirit is essential for democracy" -- Thomas Jefferson
Let me leave my fellow Americans with this quote of Mark Twain's:
Love your country always, but respect your government only when it deserves it.
Slashdot Mirror
It's been so long since they down-graded from deep dark fair traded eco organica cacao that I have not been able to by the full brand like I used to. MInd you, certain KDE apps I still find quite useful: konqueror, yakuake, kate, k3b, konversation etc. but I do miss the days when KDE rocked my desktop.
That's useful information about extra channels and community powered repositories, but then I'd be piece-mealing together what debian does by default wouldn't I? Part of my point is that debian makes it easier by default.
Using rpmfind.net is a pain particularly gathering together all the necessary parts when there are dependencies. Really a cave-manish way of doing things.
tar and make are very well known to me and I avoid them as an administrator whenever I can. That's because they don't make security and package updates easy do they? Compiling from source has its place when a particular app simply doesn't have a package or one needs a custom compiled version of some piece of software but it does require more administrative effort. In fact, that's what one has to do with RHEL 5 and derivatives wrt to Perl because Red Hat has a bug with their packaged perl that really sucks ass. i.e. can slow apps by 30-100 times. Wonder where their support has been for that package bug that reportedly has been around since 2006?
Interesting you pick the "commercial" linuxes as good for real-world server skills and list debian as good for desktop. My experience would say debian spanks red hat for ease of server admin, particularly if you want access to more packages to help you do your job. For instance, say you want to install shorewall as a firewall, slony1 for postgresql database replication or ntop for network monitoring. Is redhat repository going to help you with that? No, at least not in my experience. On top of that the debian package manager reliability and repository options make Red Hat smell like the armpit of Redmond. My opinion is that those who've done some sys. admin and had a choice steer away from red hat and choose or migrate to something like debian, slackware, BSD or even ubuntu server. If I had to use redhat, I'd try to migrate to CentOS, but even they are reliant upon the master as is fedora and when the master is driven by a for-profit board of directores chances are you're not going to get what's in your best interest as a sys. admin.
interesting, with a little research it's infantile to demonstrate that you're spewing sewage like so many flag waivers and U.S.A. chanters. I see at wikipedia that several countries that have achieved positive progress towards emission reduction while North America is belching out more filth than anywhere. The U.S. opted out simply they don't want to be accountable to anyone. On top of that Canada has made progress so the fat finger points at the united at gun points states of stolen america. Yes we're the biggest polluting, energy consuming and ego tripping nation that perhaps has ever existed. It seems so many people can't look at their own wrong-doings in the mirror, self-reflection is just too hard for these simpletons, and that is how the un-united stateless wannabe nation acts to a T. Fear is the trump card of many power hungry politicians. Wealth does not come about without taking the finite resources from somebody else. At least give a nod or bow a head in thanks for the plushness we live in, then take a deep look at how increduously self-centerd and feel as if it's our god given right to fuck up the world with abandon. As someone early in the post said, we will devour the earth and quite frankly it could happen _in_ this lifetime unless we wake up real quick.
yeah, like there was some god given right to do what was done, that's called using god in a rationalization sort of way to justify one's greed for taking something somebody else already has (at the very least) a partial stake in. america was built on blood-shed, plain and simple. i owe nothing to this country but compassion for its sequence of disgraceful events.
I don't consider myself an american, but rather i was born on the soil of the first nations people, that was (you guessed it) stolen by wannabe americans. America, as most empires, has always been about taken whatever the fuck they want because they got the bigger guns. Americans consume more energy per capita, by a long shot, than any other nation. We not only pollute we kill people to support our habits. We're insanely strapped to creature comforts. Yes, the U.S. and most people are good at pointing the finger elsewhere. I'm pointing it directly at a nation that wants to claim me as their property. Fuck that, I am a one man nation. If you can't see the atrocity of the the U.S. then you're either intellectually blind or ignorant. Not that the U.S. is alone, but we have our dirty little finger in just about everything. Who the hell consumes the bulk of chinese exports? Duhhhh, it's US. Do our corporations give a shit if china is polluting the like 1950's US while the CEO is buying his fifth fuking mansion? Hell no. We are responsable not only for our pollution but a lot of the chinese's as well. So quit buying so much cheap crap from Wallie-world and all the other US conglomerates that are responsable for chinese pollution as well as US. And don't even get me started about oil companies and cars, if you can't build a zero-emission car the don't build it. If you can't control your environmental waste then don't do it. Please, trying to say the oil companies are really trying is like saying the Pope isn't catholic. Why do we spend money on clean up, because we created a big mess, and often times its companies that have created messes that get paid to clean them up. That's good old american way there. Well I just quit the company that fucked over its stock holders and go work in an advisory role for the government, advising on the very shit I fucked up. Damn are we stupid or what? Go stick your oil mongering head on a tail-pipe and then tell me if your oil companies and car companies are not killing every fucking day. Bring it.
Nice function.
For the the layman date parser I'd add the return option:
my $date = $year . '-'. $month . '-' . $day;
return $date;
I agree in that one really shouldn't judge themselves too heavily as to how they are seen in the eyes of others. This would imply that even a foreigner shouldn't concern themselves too much about how U.S. citizens think of them, but I think you're on to something when you say they should be more worried about what we think of them. They should be worried that we'll blow them up for some stupid reason or we'll invade them based on lies. Our we'll try to control their media which may speak critically of the U.S. Or mabye that if they don't go along with the hypocrisy of a democracy they will be sanctioned. All tactics of an immature nation which is exactly what we are. I can provide a multitude of further examples such as the idea of "Let's not forget when we were offended, but let's forget as quick as we can when we offend others." Do we have dates to remember the First Nations people we slaughtered, stoled from and down right lied to time and time again? Do we have dates to remember the Africans we forced into slavery? Do we have dates to honor the underaged laborers? Columbus was responible for many deaths, and we have a national holiday for the guy. That again shows our bully-headed immaturity as a nation. Do we remember the students that were unloaded upon for a peaceful demonstration? Yeah, you're right the foreigner should be scared, not because they are innocent of many of the crimes (I'm sure they have done many), but because we carry the big guns. No wonder why we don't want Iran to have Nukes, then they would have the power to tell us to shut-up.
No matter how much the Latin types insist that they are "americanos" too, nobody outside Latin America pays them the least attention. Nor should they.
I see ccmay is ego-tripping again. No wonder why so many outside of the U.S. see it as a bully-headed nation. This trend is directly related to the juvenile attitude of the current mis-administration with respect to foreign policy. Sure we'll dialog with you as long as you go along with us. The minute you see things differently, we'll turn our back on you and cover our ears and spew "You're either with us or against us". Wow that really is progress and leaves a lot of room for diversity of opinions.
In the eye of God, no life is more valuable than any other be it an iraquian fighting for their life or an american soldier trying to protect hers.
See for yourself the increasing negative opinion of the U.S. at http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/ or just ask a few people outside the U.S. for their opinion.
When the right has proven wrong, is there nothing left but the left?
Personally, I don't align myself in such simpleton ways of right/left or liberal/conservative in part because these monikers are misleading. Of course its quite possible that the "right" will cling dearly to theirs because, imho, calling it "right" somehow soothes the ego. Another reason I avoid self-application of these labels is that it's erroneously over-simplified pigeon-holing.
As for mercy, the only kind I ask for is from god and She will deliver it as she sees fit.
The ring of truth cuts through the crap like a sharp-edged knife. Thanks for calling it like it is. Even if it's a bit depressing, it keeps the revolution fueled. The shadow has been growing for some time, but the light shines brighest in the darkest hour. Power to the peaceful.
I agree, Living life by justifying shitty actions with the "well other people do it" is just plain lame. the forces of evil act in more and more subtle ways, but a trained ninja warrior can detect them. In fact it doesn't take much training at all, mostly desire and the willingness to question your own motives. Do you like your OS of choice because of shiny silicone wrapped packages that come periodically feeding your pavlovian appetite to push the pellet lever again, or do you seek movement up the pyramid of self-slactualization and choose your OS because of the freedom, flexibility, power, sustainable ad infinitum... PS If someone doesn't make a play off of shiny silicone, I'll be really disappointed, fills de putes.
Without the janitors, the shit gets messy real quick.
Not that this justfifies an ego, but janitors need some love like everybody else.
"..orgy of consumption and debt in which you are surrounded."
nice phrase.
True contentment will never come through money.
Thank you L. Chin for you thoughtful piece on US foreign policy concerning Somalia and other situations. Most Americans do not take the time to research US foreign policy. I have been guilty of that until more recently. US foreign policy and US corporate law are boring topics that don't draw the interest of the general public, but they are very important and have very important consequences on us.
Americans seek news, but unfortunately we rely on being spoon fed news by highly filtered media sources such as corporate controlled news casts and papers. In the interest of these entities the truth is often not being told. Then when you mention someone like Noam Chomsky, people are in an uproar because the media giants that spoon feed us call him a radical, when the man speaks from facts that we dont' want to hear. Please people, do your research.
Let me follow up that little rant with some facts: In the 1980's Reagan called Osma Bin Laden (and other similar types) the modern equivalent of American's Founding Fathers. This is when they were recruited by the US to do our dirty work against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Osma Bin Laden wanted to remove foreign occupation, just like we wanted to remove British rule from America. Sounds pretty legitimate to me.
Now when the gulf war came about the US persuaded Saudia Arabia to allow US troops on their soil. This was the first time non-Arabic troops were allowed there. They were placed there to fight the threat of Saddam Hussein (another interesting story when you consider the US originally supported Saddam when he did what they wanted). With the Gulf war won, the US troops need not hang around the holy land of Saudia Arabia, but they did. This being Osma Bin Laden's home country, he wanted them out. Bingo - Bin Laden is now the enemy of the US because he doesn't agree with the foreign occupation. Wow he goes from being called the equivalent of a Founder Father of America to public enemy number 1. Hmmm... I smell something fishy.
Now let's consider the current "justifiable" war on terrorism. Even if Bin Laden is guilty:I could go on and on, but by now you might see my point is that we are very ill-informed. We have been dumbed down with highly biased, spoon-fed media. Americans are smart but we're not getting enough good sources of information. Try bringing all sides of the equations into the picture before taking sides. Use alternative news sources such a Alternative Radio (alternativeradio.org) to find out what pieces might be missing from main stream media.
As an exercise for the reader, try to find a definition of terrorism that is not biased to the West or that does not attempt to stir emotions. It's difficult to find an objective definition in part because the US would be guilty of it in Palenstine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicarugua, Libya and elsewhere.If your feeling angst about what to do, IMHO, the most effective way to address the situation is to employ Satyagraha (or non-violent active resistance). Gandhi has developed a beautifully effectvie recipe, and others after him have used it such as Dr.Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement.
As one of our founding father said, "A rebellious spirit is essential for democracy" -- Thomas Jefferson
Let me leave my fellow Americans with this quote of Mark Twain's: Love your country always, but respect your government only when it deserves it.