In most of your appearances and in your debate with Dave Cobb, you emphasized that one of your most immediate actions would be to end the Federal Reserve and dramatically restructure the currency system. Given that the market can take considerable swings if Alan Greenspan so much as sneezes, have you considered the market reaction in response to a sudden standard shift? Regardless of your personal policies, if the public confidence in a metal standard isn't there, how would you prevent a panic? Would it be possible to take a more gradualist approach to Libertarian policies, in order to do things like pay down the public debt first?
It seems the/. crowd is fond of trying to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to government regulation.
Just remember that you supported this regulation when the government decides it has the right to regulate the content that goes through the cable the same way it does the content that goes through the airwaves. Because if they can dictate a corporation's business model, that makes it that much easier for them to dictate it's content.
Mixing government with the economy is usually as disastrous as mixing government with religion. A pity so many don't see it.
Look, I know Agent Smith and Captain Planet made you feel really bad about being heterotrophs, but the point is that we humans are biologically not meant to be totally self-sufficient. We don't synthesize our own food, we don't make our own water. Even if we radically altered our lifestyles to have an absolute minimum ecological footprint, the only way we could truly make the planet last forever is to put strict 1-2-child controls on reproduction. If you think attempting to enforce worldwide controls against the most basic human instinct is any more feasible than space colonization, well, good luck with that!
Long-term, humans will have to leave this planet at one time or another. While I agree we could be using this one more efficiently, and that terraforming is a bit too far off to worry about just now, debating the morality of terraforming is just silly. Survival of the fittest!
The scope of the "house rules" preventing individuals from bringing along camcorders stretches farther than the individual theater. We can easily imagine a renegade theater allowing camcorders and thus serving as a supplier for hordes of so-called pirates. Arguably the movie industry believes that individual theaters should not be able to make this call.
But even then, the movie industry could easily yank the leash back on any "renegade theater" by simply refusing to supply them with new movies. It's quite possible for this to be handled without wasting tax money.
Damn lobbyists.
Am I the only one who was a little miffed at reading the offhand statement that it is now illegal to carry a camcorder in a movie theater? Is there any reason the movie distributors couldn't have just used their clout with the theaters to get them to crack down themselves on bootleggers? Why is a state law necessary? Seems to me policemen have much better things to do than try and help a private establishment such as a theater enforce its own house rules.
The RIAA's subsidiary, SoundExchange, is currently the sole designated agent for collection distribution royalties, as per the U.S. Copyright Office.
What this means is that SoundExchange, a.k.a. the RIAA, is authorized to collect on behalf of all copyright holders. Even those who aren't members of the RIAA proper.
To put it another way, even if I were to start a band, and a Shoutcast station devoted solely to my band, or to local unsigned bands throughout my city, the RIAA (as SoundExchange) could knock on my door and demand royalties! And since none of us are members of the RIAA, we wouldn't see a red cent!
This is just a taste of the asinine legislation currently binding webcasters thanks to the RIAA's powerful lobbying power.
Does the word "Pandora's Box" ring a bell to any of these people? Once a science becomes feasible, it's going to be explored. Better it be done by respectable, civilized scientists than underground organizations of questionable ethical bent.
I can see it now: "If nanotechnology is outlawed, only outlaws will have nanotechnology!"
Only oversight I saw was what the money from touring? Supposedly that is where a band makes all their money.
Clear Channel (mostly) and the other corporations that underwrite tours are just as bad at skimming musicians' income as the RIAA.
Boycott the RIAA. That's what has to happen. It's already started. Hillary Rosen and the suits are releasing all these surveys showing how they're starting to go downhill. They've tried half-assed DRM-limited "streaming" downloads, they've tried inflating the CD prices to compensate, but it will take every music fan's voice in concert to let them know what they really need to do.
Get the hell out of the way.
And don't forget the artists. Attend local shows, support Independent acts. Buy merchandise, hell, mail a check, but find other ways to support your favorite musicians without giving a tithe to the RIAA. It can happen.
Wasn't Children of Dune the third book in the saga? Are they planning on incorporating it with Dune Messiah (which would be more than a little tricky, IMO), or are they simply going to skip the second book?
Not to rain on the MPAA Conpiracy parade I'm sure we'll see from the usual suspects in a bit, but wasn't there a similar problem with early CDs?
Or could this be "planned obsolescence," i.e., Sony's PlayStation2 hardware problems? (The PS2 breaks more often than the GC and XB combined, and usually Sony wants $100 just to look at it)
While some may label them bastards for their hard-nosed stance on emulation (but with them releasing so many great remakes for the GBA, can you blame them?) and arrogance, the fact is that, compared to the Everything-Box multimedia behemoths of Sony and MS, this is the equivalent of a mom-and-pop general store that's been around for generations vowing to stick it out against the Wal-Mart and the Target raking it in on either side.
...and someone will build a better mouse.
The only solution I can see is for Microsoft to hire a 6'8" Sicilian named Rocco Knuckles to traverse the country and check every end-user running XP, enforcing the DMCA and MS's activation code policies with extreme prejudice.
As someone who has had the good fortune to rise up almost entirely in a school system where computers were integrated into the learning experience, I can hardly believe this rationale.
The computer is merely a tool, people. Doodling on MS Paint will no more hamper a child from developing artistic skills than stenciling with a Spirograph. For example, computers can help teach students about color, form, and layout far more easily than pen-and-ink. Computers encourage children who may just not have the physical dexterity yet to "color in the lines" to develop and appreciate any art gift they might have.
Sure, in sixth grade, we mainly played Out Of This World on the math class's computer after we finished our homework (Which, by the way, usually provided ample incentive to develop math skills so one was insured of receiving a turn). But once the bell rang for the end of class we went out and played freeze tag or touch football as well. It's perfectly possible for computers to coexist with what we would like to think of as a "normal" educational experience.
Plus, we cannot ignore the fact that the world itself is becoming more and more computer-oriented. Children should be made to feel comfortable with machines. That's why it's so great that my little sister has to help my parents with their computer problems, or how to operate MS Word. As we revolutionize the way we create, control, and communicate our lives, the next generation is assimilating the computer in the same way pervious generations assimilated the horseless carriage, or the television.
Sure, any thing that makes learning easier has its drawbacks. But you cannot dim the star of technology because a few people might be either too lazy to adapt to the new technology, or too weak to avoid growing overly dependent on it.
The times are a-changin', and the last thing we need is to shortchange our children by holding one of the best educational tools ever invented back from them.
It is a period of civil war. Rebel hackers, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Verant Empire and it's horrific Everquest.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the STAR WARS MMORPG, a new and more powerful form of digital crack with enough power to enslave an entire planet.
Pursued by Verant's sinister agents across the EQ serves, Princess CowboyNeal races home aboard her...er...his avatar, custodian of the stolen beta that can save his nerds and restore freedom to the galaxy...
Slashdot Mirror
In most of your appearances and in your debate with Dave Cobb, you emphasized that one of your most immediate actions would be to end the Federal Reserve and dramatically restructure the currency system. Given that the market can take considerable swings if Alan Greenspan so much as sneezes, have you considered the market reaction in response to a sudden standard shift? Regardless of your personal policies, if the public confidence in a metal standard isn't there, how would you prevent a panic? Would it be possible to take a more gradualist approach to Libertarian policies, in order to do things like pay down the public debt first?
Just remember that you supported this regulation when the government decides it has the right to regulate the content that goes through the cable the same way it does the content that goes through the airwaves. Because if they can dictate a corporation's business model, that makes it that much easier for them to dictate it's content.
Mixing government with the economy is usually as disastrous as mixing government with religion. A pity so many don't see it.
Long-term, humans will have to leave this planet at one time or another. While I agree we could be using this one more efficiently, and that terraforming is a bit too far off to worry about just now, debating the morality of terraforming is just silly. Survival of the fittest!
But even then, the movie industry could easily yank the leash back on any "renegade theater" by simply refusing to supply them with new movies. It's quite possible for this to be handled without wasting tax money. Damn lobbyists.
Am I the only one who was a little miffed at reading the offhand statement that it is now illegal to carry a camcorder in a movie theater? Is there any reason the movie distributors couldn't have just used their clout with the theaters to get them to crack down themselves on bootleggers? Why is a state law necessary? Seems to me policemen have much better things to do than try and help a private establishment such as a theater enforce its own house rules.
Actually, it wouldn't.
The RIAA's subsidiary, SoundExchange, is currently the sole designated agent for collection distribution royalties, as per the U.S. Copyright Office.
What this means is that SoundExchange, a.k.a. the RIAA, is authorized to collect on behalf of all copyright holders. Even those who aren't members of the RIAA proper.
To put it another way, even if I were to start a band, and a Shoutcast station devoted solely to my band, or to local unsigned bands throughout my city, the RIAA (as SoundExchange) could knock on my door and demand royalties! And since none of us are members of the RIAA, we wouldn't see a red cent!
This is just a taste of the asinine legislation currently binding webcasters thanks to the RIAA's powerful lobbying power.
I can see it now: "If nanotechnology is outlawed, only outlaws will have nanotechnology!"
Facetious, but nevertheless relevant.
I have nothing else to say, really.
Mod up parent. TANSTAAFL.
Only oversight I saw was what the money from touring? Supposedly that is where a band makes all their money. Clear Channel (mostly) and the other corporations that underwrite tours are just as bad at skimming musicians' income as the RIAA.
Get the hell out of the way.
And don't forget the artists. Attend local shows, support Independent acts. Buy merchandise, hell, mail a check, but find other ways to support your favorite musicians without giving a tithe to the RIAA. It can happen.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know what ultimately happened to the original CBBS referenced in this article?
"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security."
-Benjamin Franklin
Wasn't Children of Dune the third book in the saga? Are they planning on incorporating it with Dune Messiah (which would be more than a little tricky, IMO), or are they simply going to skip the second book?
Or could this be "planned obsolescence," i.e., Sony's PlayStation2 hardware problems? (The PS2 breaks more often than the GC and XB combined, and usually Sony wants $100 just to look at it)
While some may label them bastards for their hard-nosed stance on emulation (but with them releasing so many great remakes for the GBA, can you blame them?) and arrogance, the fact is that, compared to the Everything-Box multimedia behemoths of Sony and MS, this is the equivalent of a mom-and-pop general store that's been around for generations vowing to stick it out against the Wal-Mart and the Target raking it in on either side.
More like Cel -da!
It's amazing how far some people will go to convince themselves the bullshit they studied in college was actually useful for something. *weg*
...a three hour tour!
...and someone will build a better mouse. The only solution I can see is for Microsoft to hire a 6'8" Sicilian named Rocco Knuckles to traverse the country and check every end-user running XP, enforcing the DMCA and MS's activation code policies with extreme prejudice.
The computer is merely a tool, people. Doodling on MS Paint will no more hamper a child from developing artistic skills than stenciling with a Spirograph. For example, computers can help teach students about color, form, and layout far more easily than pen-and-ink. Computers encourage children who may just not have the physical dexterity yet to "color in the lines" to develop and appreciate any art gift they might have.
Sure, in sixth grade, we mainly played Out Of This World on the math class's computer after we finished our homework (Which, by the way, usually provided ample incentive to develop math skills so one was insured of receiving a turn). But once the bell rang for the end of class we went out and played freeze tag or touch football as well. It's perfectly possible for computers to coexist with what we would like to think of as a "normal" educational experience.
Plus, we cannot ignore the fact that the world itself is becoming more and more computer-oriented. Children should be made to feel comfortable with machines. That's why it's so great that my little sister has to help my parents with their computer problems, or how to operate MS Word. As we revolutionize the way we create, control, and communicate our lives, the next generation is assimilating the computer in the same way pervious generations assimilated the horseless carriage, or the television.
Sure, any thing that makes learning easier has its drawbacks. But you cannot dim the star of technology because a few people might be either too lazy to adapt to the new technology, or too weak to avoid growing overly dependent on it.
The times are a-changin', and the last thing we need is to shortchange our children by holding one of the best educational tools ever invented back from them.
It is a period of civil war. Rebel hackers, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Verant Empire and it's horrific Everquest. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the STAR WARS MMORPG, a new and more powerful form of digital crack with enough power to enslave an entire planet. Pursued by Verant's sinister agents across the EQ serves, Princess CowboyNeal races home aboard her...er...his avatar, custodian of the stolen beta that can save his nerds and restore freedom to the galaxy...