It's funny that you point out somebody else has faulty line of reasoning, but do not look at what you yourself is saying.
If something cannot be measured, observed, quantified or defined, it is AS IF it did not exist.
So take this entity, we shall call it FSM existed, however it was never ever observed in any way, never interacted with our universe in any shape way or form (not even with the smallest of particles), does not exist in any location (no matter where you go, you will never ever see it), never ever left a trace of anything anywhere....Cannot be measured, is invisible to everything....How do you know it exists? What would ever lead you to that conclusion (that it exists/has existed?) without being insane? Because a logical rational person cannot come to that conclusion. It would require faith (the belief in something despite the absence of evidence).
You cannot possibly make such a statement. You cannot say with any certainty whatsoever that something has not interacted with any matter, even the smallest particles, anywhere in the Universe. Your observational powers aren't even close to being able to make such a measurement. My position is that I cannot say whether the FSM exists or not. I allow for the possibility of the existence of a FSM. You seem to have foreclosed that possibility, which illustrates my point nicely.
Take for example dark matter. It cannot be seen, measured. or defined at the moment. But we know it's there. We know because of at least 2 simple reasons (that my simpleton mind knows of, I am not an astrophysicist)......#1 Mathematical calculations predicts it.......#2 It seems to interact with our universe through gravity.
BTW are you seriously going to tell me that satyrs MIGHT exist? I am talking about half men half goats creatures....
The default position for a rational person in the lack of evidence is to not believe. It is not for him to disprove everything somebody can claim. It is up to the person making an assertion that need to prove his position.
Of course Satyrs might exist. I have no reason to think they do, but they might. There are still places on this earth that have not been fully explored. We discover new species all the time. I don't know what kind of life there is on other planets either. Maybe the Satyrs will show up in a spaceship tomorrow, I really can't say.
Did dark matter exist before we detected it? I would argue it did. But from your reasoning it did not, practically speaking. This is precisely my point and why I love this line of inquiry. The only assertion I am making is that we should not let the limits of our observation limit the world of the possible. We will discover things in the coming decades (and hopefully centuries) that will make the unknown known and the impossible possible. The Universe is not limited; we are. And yet we continue to deny the possibility of things rather than having the humility to tell the truth; that we simply don't know.
Not that I'm saying people should believe in sentience continuing after bodily death, I'm saying people overstep the mark when they claim that it must end and that's that and anyone who wonders otherwise is a religious nut. That's just where a scientific view becomes a scientism view, a belief in itself. So, remain open minded.
I wish I had mod points, because this is an insightful post. There is a line of thought that says that if something can't be observed, measured or defined scientifically then it doesn't exist. I think that way of thinking closes the mind. There is a lot we don't know or understand, so foreclosing the possibility of other states of being or consciousness is a mistake. We simply don't know, as you say.
Science and the scientific method have enabled us to understand a lot of the world around us. Its value is self-evident. But we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that it is the only tool we have for gathering knowledge. It can't answer every question, and that's okay.
What? This was a PRIVATE employment agreement between a PRIVATE employer and a PRIVATE employee. If she doesn't like the employers terms she can find a new job. The GOVERNMENT has zero business intruding in a PRIVATE affair!
Rand Paul for President 2016!
Way to completely ignore the power differential between an employer and employee. If it were as easy as simply finding another job, no one would ever work in an unpleasant or intrusive environment. And yet people work in shitty jobs every day. So there must be some other dynamic at play that you have not considered.
The way your post is worded, you may just be trolling. But if you're serious, your stance on the issue shows that you have not thought it through at all. Saying that people should just find another job shows that you haven't considered many of the realities of working in America.
You know how we have found records from ancient Egypt and China and South America that are thousands of years old, enabling us to learn about those cultures? That won't happen with us. We store our records on fragile magnetic disks that require electricity and an extremely complex machine to read. No one wants to think that our civilization could end, but odds are it will at some point. I often wonder what future archaeologists will think about our civilization. What trace will we leave behind now that everything has gone digital?
When an officer of the law (which implies "officer of the law-courts") tells you to do something you, as a citizen under the law, must comply.
If you do not comply, then the officer has the right and obligation to clear you from the area by whatever means necessary.
So, if an officer tells me to cluck like a chicken, I must do it or face arrest? I'm not sure that's right.
Please don't bring that weak-ass "I have rights" crap to court because even your lawyer will want to smack you. The American Public has rights, an individual citizen has no rights.
All this talk about the police, and how bad they are. Sure, there are some bad ones, but on the whole, I do not fear the police. It is the niggers I fear. THAT is the conversation this country needs to have. Why the niggers are completely out of control, and what needs to be done about it.
Maybe if you stopped calling them niggers, they'd be nicer to you. Know what I mean, asshole?
Leftists harassing cops - fun times. Now that I know this site might as well be Kos, it's time to go forever.
More like cops harassing everyone, especially Black people. I didn't realize abuse of power was only a concern for the Left. Patriot groups have nothing to fear from government overreach I guess.
Do they even really count as an ally after we've so thoroughly snubbed them on what they consider one of their #1 national security issues (nuclear Iran)? I don't know if we qualify as something more than "vaguely co-aligned friendlyish nations" anymore.
The negotiations with Iran are being held in order to get them to not develop a nuclear weapon. I would think Israel would be in favor of such negotiations, if they are so scared of a nuclear-armed Iran. So I don't see how we have snubbed them, unless Israel's actual goal is to get the US to attack Iran for them, and thereby advance their strategic interests.
Which would EXACTLY be those JACKASSES that *YOU THE PEOPLE* elected and put in office to write laws regarding how the FBI, NSA, DHS, ICE, IRS and all the other agencies you hate are to treat YOU.
REAL fucking smart all that voting and standing up and telling them what you want that you've been doing all these 15+ years.... REAL FUCKING SMART.
It's no wonder you get them trying to roll out more shit against you.
You actually bend over and let them fuck you.
What an idiot. Sorry, how responsive is the federal government to the needs of the People? There have been studies done that show that citizens have little say in how policy is formed. We vote for Kodos or Kang every two to four years and not much changes for the better.
So what am I supposed to do? Sure, I can get involved politically and I do that to some extent. But I have a 40+ hour a week job to maintain, kids at home once I get there at night, and life maintenance/kid stuff to do on the weekends. So I don't have a massive amount of time to spend on making sure government agencies are following the law and acting appropriately. And, frankly, I shouldn't have to! That's why I elect people in a representative government. My elected representatives are supposed to look out for their constituents. I am painfully aware that they do not often do that. But that's not my fault, it is theirs. They were elected to do a job just like I was hired to do my job. My boss does not constantly check up on me to make sure I'm doing my job. If he had to do that, I would be fired. I am expected to know what my job is and do it correctly with minimal supervision.
As you can probably tell, I am sick of people blaming the citizenry for government corruption and/or incompetence. Yes, people need to pay attention, stay engaged and vote responsibly. But big business, intelligence agencies and wealthy special interests have been working for years to rig the game and get what they want. They do it behind closed doors to purposely keep the People out of the process (just look at the TPP for an example). And then there's that fact that the public is lied to and propagandized such that a lot of people don't understand the issues and rely on bad information. So fuck off with this blaming the public crap. Yes, the public has to stay on point. But it is not nearly that simple, and it's not their fault when people entrusted with responsible government let them down.
the last 2 contract jobs I had, the employer insisted that I bring 'my' work laptop home with me each nite. when I explained that I'm not paid beyond 8 hours a day (hey, it was YOU, mr employer, who forced contract on me; I would have gone f/t if offered the chance but nooooo! you didn't want that, did you?) - they simply said that everyone takes their laptop home. its expected.
they want it both ways. no benes for you, ability to can your ass on a moment's notice and yet they expect you to work for them before the workday begins and after it ends; all for fixed income and, again, NO benes. when the US monday holidays come around, guess who can only bill 32 hours that week while everyone else gets their 40?
All the contract bullshit pisses me off too. I am looking for a new job (my boss sucks and I don't get projects to keep my skills current) and I see so many job descriptions that read like a full-time position but are actually 6 month contracts. Seriously? They want a Systems Admin with 3 years of VMWare and SAN experience, Active Directory, backup, Exchange, firewall and LAN/WAN but they only need it for 6 months? That's a permanent, full-time position. But they say it's contract.
Well, guess what? I'm not applying for that position. Why would I give up a full-time job with benefits for a 6 month or 1 year contract? I see many jobs I think I'm qualified for, but so many of them are posted as contract when the description is clearly for a full-time permanent position.
What is wrong if they can find someone who can do it for cheaper?
Doesn't a CEO have a right to run his business the way he sees fit. If you can't compete with these low end folks with language barriers that says more about you than it does about cost cutting.
The CEO is probably one of the highest paid people in the company. Surely, they could find someone to do that job for less. And yet, that calculation never seems to come up. Funny, eh?
What is wrong if they can find someone who can do it for cheaper?
Doesn't a CEO have a right to run his business the way he sees fit. If you can't compete with these low end folks with language barriers that says more about you than it does about cost cutting.
I can tell you have thought long and hard on this topic.
Bernie Sanders the man that brought on the housing crisis with his misguided anti redlining legislation ? Pro Tip here, if you can't afford a loan you can't afford a loan.
Tell that to Countrywide. You don't seem to understand that the housing crisis was brought on by fraud on the part of the mortgage originators, loan packagers and ratings agencies.
Seriously, there is enough written on the topic by people like Barry Ritholtz and Matt Taibbi. I don't understand why people keep pushing the legislation angle, except for servicing an agenda or willful ignorance.
You could compete against the H1B holders by matching their salary requirements.
Why do you think it is ok to force people to pay higher prices for your talents, when the same talent is available at a lower price?
Don't you rant and rage when companies do this to you with their products?
Oh, have we given up the pretense that H1B workers are paid the same as domestic workers? Because that's the law, you know. But thanks for your refreshing candor in admitting that hiring H1B's is wage arbitrage.
The fact that it's hard to get the money out of politics - and the presence of that money makes the two parties act more similarly than they otherwise would - doesn't make them the same. It just proves that the system (money and all) is corrupt. Who do you think is more likely to fix that...?
If it's between the Democrats and Republicans to fix it, I'll go with my Aunt Rita.
In general if you look at the donor list, they all come from the same strata of society but represent opposing cultures within that strata. Granted, picking either party is a vote for the wealthy controlling the country, but they are still a fairly diverse bunch and you can pick and choose who's goals align with your own.
This is true for certain social issues. But there is no party that advocates scaling back our military and intelligence agencies, ending the drug war, establishing universal healthcare, or prosecuting white-collar crime. These are some of the important issues that enjoy bipartisan agreement to ignore. That's why I have not voted R or D since 2004, except when Elizabeth Warren ran for Senate.
If people actually wanted 1M liability coverage then uber could flag those accounts and push them to the top
but most people don't care and would rather have cheaper fare.
People are also often short-sighted and bad at estimating risk.
Slashdot Mirror
You mean jack income tax rates up to 90%? Half kidding, but I'm curious what you see about the differences between Democrats now vs. JFK era.
IIRC the 90% marginal rate was under Eisenhower. And I'd be all for returning to that!
The SJWs here seem bound and determined to give these MRAs far more exposure than they would have otherwise.
They need each other, like Democrats and Republicans.
Exactly - he needs a paycheck that goes up to 11
He was Derek Smalls after all!
It's funny that you point out somebody else has faulty line of reasoning, but do not look at what you yourself is saying.
If something cannot be measured, observed, quantified or defined, it is AS IF it did not exist.
So take this entity, we shall call it FSM existed, however it was never ever observed in any way, never interacted with our universe in any shape way or form (not even with the smallest of particles), does not exist in any location (no matter where you go, you will never ever see it), never ever left a trace of anything anywhere....Cannot be measured, is invisible to everything....How do you know it exists? What would ever lead you to that conclusion (that it exists/has existed?) without being insane? Because a logical rational person cannot come to that conclusion. It would require faith (the belief in something despite the absence of evidence).
You cannot possibly make such a statement. You cannot say with any certainty whatsoever that something has not interacted with any matter, even the smallest particles, anywhere in the Universe. Your observational powers aren't even close to being able to make such a measurement. My position is that I cannot say whether the FSM exists or not. I allow for the possibility of the existence of a FSM. You seem to have foreclosed that possibility, which illustrates my point nicely.
Take for example dark matter. It cannot be seen, measured. or defined at the moment. But we know it's there. We know because of at least 2 simple reasons (that my simpleton mind knows of, I am not an astrophysicist)......#1 Mathematical calculations predicts it.......#2 It seems to interact with our universe through gravity.
BTW are you seriously going to tell me that satyrs MIGHT exist? I am talking about half men half goats creatures....
The default position for a rational person in the lack of evidence is to not believe. It is not for him to disprove everything somebody can claim. It is up to the person making an assertion that need to prove his position.
Of course Satyrs might exist. I have no reason to think they do, but they might. There are still places on this earth that have not been fully explored. We discover new species all the time. I don't know what kind of life there is on other planets either. Maybe the Satyrs will show up in a spaceship tomorrow, I really can't say.
Did dark matter exist before we detected it? I would argue it did. But from your reasoning it did not, practically speaking. This is precisely my point and why I love this line of inquiry. The only assertion I am making is that we should not let the limits of our observation limit the world of the possible. We will discover things in the coming decades (and hopefully centuries) that will make the unknown known and the impossible possible. The Universe is not limited; we are. And yet we continue to deny the possibility of things rather than having the humility to tell the truth; that we simply don't know.
Not that I'm saying people should believe in sentience continuing after bodily death, I'm saying people overstep the mark when they claim that it must end and that's that and anyone who wonders otherwise is a religious nut. That's just where a scientific view becomes a scientism view, a belief in itself. So, remain open minded.
I wish I had mod points, because this is an insightful post. There is a line of thought that says that if something can't be observed, measured or defined scientifically then it doesn't exist. I think that way of thinking closes the mind. There is a lot we don't know or understand, so foreclosing the possibility of other states of being or consciousness is a mistake. We simply don't know, as you say.
Science and the scientific method have enabled us to understand a lot of the world around us. Its value is self-evident. But we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that it is the only tool we have for gathering knowledge. It can't answer every question, and that's okay.
What? This was a PRIVATE employment agreement between a PRIVATE employer and a PRIVATE employee. If she doesn't like the employers terms she can find a new job. The GOVERNMENT has zero business intruding in a PRIVATE affair!
Rand Paul for President 2016!
Way to completely ignore the power differential between an employer and employee. If it were as easy as simply finding another job, no one would ever work in an unpleasant or intrusive environment. And yet people work in shitty jobs every day. So there must be some other dynamic at play that you have not considered.
The way your post is worded, you may just be trolling. But if you're serious, your stance on the issue shows that you have not thought it through at all. Saying that people should just find another job shows that you haven't considered many of the realities of working in America.
You know how we have found records from ancient Egypt and China and South America that are thousands of years old, enabling us to learn about those cultures? That won't happen with us. We store our records on fragile magnetic disks that require electricity and an extremely complex machine to read. No one wants to think that our civilization could end, but odds are it will at some point. I often wonder what future archaeologists will think about our civilization. What trace will we leave behind now that everything has gone digital?
When an officer of the law (which implies "officer of the law-courts") tells you to do something you, as a citizen under the law, must comply.
If you do not comply, then the officer has the right and obligation to clear you from the area by whatever means necessary.
So, if an officer tells me to cluck like a chicken, I must do it or face arrest? I'm not sure that's right.
Please don't bring that weak-ass "I have rights" crap to court because even your lawyer will want to smack you. The American Public has rights, an individual citizen has no rights.
I'm not sure that's right either.
All this talk about the police, and how bad they are. Sure, there are some bad ones, but on the whole, I do not fear the police. It is the niggers I fear. THAT is the conversation this country needs to have. Why the niggers are completely out of control, and what needs to be done about it.
Maybe if you stopped calling them niggers, they'd be nicer to you. Know what I mean, asshole?
Leftists harassing cops - fun times. Now that I know this site might as well be Kos, it's time to go forever.
More like cops harassing everyone, especially Black people. I didn't realize abuse of power was only a concern for the Left. Patriot groups have nothing to fear from government overreach I guess.
Do they even really count as an ally after we've so thoroughly snubbed them on what they consider one of their #1 national security issues (nuclear Iran)? I don't know if we qualify as something more than "vaguely co-aligned friendlyish nations" anymore.
The negotiations with Iran are being held in order to get them to not develop a nuclear weapon. I would think Israel would be in favor of such negotiations, if they are so scared of a nuclear-armed Iran. So I don't see how we have snubbed them, unless Israel's actual goal is to get the US to attack Iran for them, and thereby advance their strategic interests.
Which would EXACTLY be those JACKASSES that *YOU THE PEOPLE* elected and put in office to write laws regarding how the FBI, NSA, DHS, ICE, IRS and all the other agencies you hate are to treat YOU.
REAL fucking smart all that voting and standing up and telling them what you want that you've been doing all these 15+ years.... REAL FUCKING SMART. It's no wonder you get them trying to roll out more shit against you. You actually bend over and let them fuck you.
What an idiot. Sorry, how responsive is the federal government to the needs of the People? There have been studies done that show that citizens have little say in how policy is formed. We vote for Kodos or Kang every two to four years and not much changes for the better.
So what am I supposed to do? Sure, I can get involved politically and I do that to some extent. But I have a 40+ hour a week job to maintain, kids at home once I get there at night, and life maintenance/kid stuff to do on the weekends. So I don't have a massive amount of time to spend on making sure government agencies are following the law and acting appropriately. And, frankly, I shouldn't have to! That's why I elect people in a representative government. My elected representatives are supposed to look out for their constituents. I am painfully aware that they do not often do that. But that's not my fault, it is theirs. They were elected to do a job just like I was hired to do my job. My boss does not constantly check up on me to make sure I'm doing my job. If he had to do that, I would be fired. I am expected to know what my job is and do it correctly with minimal supervision.
As you can probably tell, I am sick of people blaming the citizenry for government corruption and/or incompetence. Yes, people need to pay attention, stay engaged and vote responsibly. But big business, intelligence agencies and wealthy special interests have been working for years to rig the game and get what they want. They do it behind closed doors to purposely keep the People out of the process (just look at the TPP for an example). And then there's that fact that the public is lied to and propagandized such that a lot of people don't understand the issues and rely on bad information. So fuck off with this blaming the public crap. Yes, the public has to stay on point. But it is not nearly that simple, and it's not their fault when people entrusted with responsible government let them down.
You mean... xfinity...
So that's what they call getting 50% of the advertised bandwidth.
Not sure why they had to patent it. Not too many ISPs are clamoring to meet or beat that metric.
You get 50%?! I'm on a supposedly 105 Mb connection and speed tests routinely report 10 - 12 Mb. I would be thrilled with 50% of advertised bandwidth.
So, as of this point, neither of the parties is currently Left enough for you?
It's also that Elizabeth warren is one of the few who actually thinks Wall Street fraud should be prosecuted.
So, as of this point, neither of the parties is currently Left enough for you?
Not even close. I'll vote twice for Bernie Sanders if given the chance.
the last 2 contract jobs I had, the employer insisted that I bring 'my' work laptop home with me each nite. when I explained that I'm not paid beyond 8 hours a day (hey, it was YOU, mr employer, who forced contract on me; I would have gone f/t if offered the chance but nooooo! you didn't want that, did you?) - they simply said that everyone takes their laptop home. its expected.
they want it both ways. no benes for you, ability to can your ass on a moment's notice and yet they expect you to work for them before the workday begins and after it ends; all for fixed income and, again, NO benes. when the US monday holidays come around, guess who can only bill 32 hours that week while everyone else gets their 40?
All the contract bullshit pisses me off too. I am looking for a new job (my boss sucks and I don't get projects to keep my skills current) and I see so many job descriptions that read like a full-time position but are actually 6 month contracts. Seriously? They want a Systems Admin with 3 years of VMWare and SAN experience, Active Directory, backup, Exchange, firewall and LAN/WAN but they only need it for 6 months? That's a permanent, full-time position. But they say it's contract.
Well, guess what? I'm not applying for that position. Why would I give up a full-time job with benefits for a 6 month or 1 year contract? I see many jobs I think I'm qualified for, but so many of them are posted as contract when the description is clearly for a full-time permanent position.
generally when you witness a crime the right thing to do is report it to the authorities, if he was scared of retribution then do it anonymously.
I agree in principle. But practically speaking, we both know how far that would have gone.
What is wrong if they can find someone who can do it for cheaper?
Doesn't a CEO have a right to run his business the way he sees fit. If you can't compete with these low end folks with language barriers that says more about you than it does about cost cutting.
The CEO is probably one of the highest paid people in the company. Surely, they could find someone to do that job for less. And yet, that calculation never seems to come up. Funny, eh?
Perhaps Mickey should be replaced with an H1-B worker
If he had entered the public domain, like he should have years ago, we wouldn't have to.
What is wrong if they can find someone who can do it for cheaper?
Doesn't a CEO have a right to run his business the way he sees fit. If you can't compete with these low end folks with language barriers that says more about you than it does about cost cutting.
I can tell you have thought long and hard on this topic.
Bernie Sanders the man that brought on the housing crisis with his misguided anti redlining legislation ? Pro Tip here, if you can't afford a loan you can't afford a loan.
Tell that to Countrywide. You don't seem to understand that the housing crisis was brought on by fraud on the part of the mortgage originators, loan packagers and ratings agencies.
Seriously, there is enough written on the topic by people like Barry Ritholtz and Matt Taibbi. I don't understand why people keep pushing the legislation angle, except for servicing an agenda or willful ignorance.
You could compete against the H1B holders by matching their salary requirements.
Why do you think it is ok to force people to pay higher prices for your talents, when the same talent is available at a lower price?
Don't you rant and rage when companies do this to you with their products?
Oh, have we given up the pretense that H1B workers are paid the same as domestic workers? Because that's the law, you know. But thanks for your refreshing candor in admitting that hiring H1B's is wage arbitrage.
The fact that it's hard to get the money out of politics - and the presence of that money makes the two parties act more similarly than they otherwise would - doesn't make them the same. It just proves that the system (money and all) is corrupt. Who do you think is more likely to fix that...?
If it's between the Democrats and Republicans to fix it, I'll go with my Aunt Rita.
In general if you look at the donor list, they all come from the same strata of society but represent opposing cultures within that strata. Granted, picking either party is a vote for the wealthy controlling the country, but they are still a fairly diverse bunch and you can pick and choose who's goals align with your own.
This is true for certain social issues. But there is no party that advocates scaling back our military and intelligence agencies, ending the drug war, establishing universal healthcare, or prosecuting white-collar crime. These are some of the important issues that enjoy bipartisan agreement to ignore. That's why I have not voted R or D since 2004, except when Elizabeth Warren ran for Senate.
If people actually wanted 1M liability coverage then uber could flag those accounts and push them to the top but most people don't care and would rather have cheaper fare.
People are also often short-sighted and bad at estimating risk.