Because this is an international issue. Certainly we could force American web site operators to do this (subject to the other issues raised in previous responses) but what good would this really do? Asian operators will ignore the law, American operators will be at a disadvantage and the porn will still be as freely available as it was before the requirement.
The government subsidizes farmers, but if I wander onto a farm and pick a few apples, I'll get arrested for theft.
You can't benefit from the government's largesse with your money by getting apples free . You do benefit, however, by paying an artificially reduced price for apples in your local megamart.
I also appreciate the idea that because we have harmonized with the EU now and created a status quo, that it will take both side of the pond working to reduce it.
Unfortunately, the harmonization argument seems to be a one way street. Or do you think that harmonization will also make it harder for Congress to increase the term?
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they sold out. Do you have any evidence that any member of the court was bribed or coerced? If not, then you were stupid
Don't forget community colleges. They often have certificate programs in computer science that can be taught by anyone with sufficient experience regardless of whether or not they have a relevant degree.
I'm not sure where this idea that the good guys have to lose in the short term to win in the long came from. The other side can appeal too. FatWallet could win this round then one of the defendants in an excess of zeal or stupidity appeals and loses again in the appeals court. In fact, I would think the deep-pocketed retailers would be more likely to appeal than a small corporation or individual.
I've even talked with my laywer about requiring job applicants to go through a ropes course (or other group building exercise) with other applicants as part of the application process. We figure it would be one of the few ways to see if a person REALLY believes in teamwork, or just claims to. It seems (and perhaps is) extreme,
It is extreme. Your company would have to be pretty special for me to be willing to go to that much trouble. Remember, since I already have a job I have to take time off every time I go to meet with you. For two interviews that adds up to two half-days depending on how flexible your interview times are. Add a full day for this ropes course and my current employer is going to start to get suspicious. Not to mention those are vacation days that I'd rather spend with my other team (i.e. my family).
A modest proposal? Wasn't that about eating babies?:-) I do know it was Swift at his most satirical.
Yeah, it is. Something about suggesting that since the Irish land owners were sucking the life from their tenants they might as well speed up the process by eating their children.
You raised some good points. Let me answer a few of them.
Nationalize the lawyers? Don't you mean enslave? Effectively every lawyer would be forced to sign on with a monopolistic gov't.
If you want to be an air traffic controller you have to work for the government. If you want to be in the military you have to work for the government. If you want to work in law enforcement (i.e. investigate crimes and arrest people) you have to work for the government, etc. There are some professions that are exclusive to the government. I don't think any of the members of those professions think of themselves as "enslaved to a monopolistic government".
Actually, the far greater problem is however much you might do to equalize access to lawyers, you would do nothing to equalize the skill of individual lawyers. They are all quite different -- think baseball players. You have the stars, the average, and Little League.
Good point - so anytime someone needs a lawyer one is assigned to them by lottery. You don't get to pick your air traffic controller or the cop who responds to your 911 call.
The flat fee tax defenders -- why couldn't the IRS simply decide to run them into the ground?
Because the IRS doesn't get to pick the people they "run to ground". Who gets audited is decided by a complex computer program that evaluates tax returns against complex metrics designed to identify those most likely to cheat.
You've raised some points that for various reasons have been on my mind over the last few months. In particular I've been thinking about the inability of the average American to afford (either by training or by purchase of service) access to our legal system. In what sense of the phrase is everyone "equal under the law" if some people/groups have access to better legal services than others. The obvious solution is this: nationalize the lawyers.
Now I'll admit I haven't spent a lot of time thinking this through but the idea has some obvious charms. Everyone from the poorest homeless person to the wealthiest corporation gets the same level of service and access. This could push the legal system to become more abritrative than adversarial - hopefully resulting in a renewed focus on the pursuit of justice rather than victory for its own sake. (I read about an interesting example of this a few years ago: A law firm started handling IRS audits on a flat fee basis. They had amazing settlement rates because the IRS knew they couldn't drag the proceedings out until the clients ran out of money to pay for their defense).
Baker College has a fully accredited, online Master's program that corresponds to their brick-and-mortar program. I don't know if they have a CS master's but they do have a 100% online MBA with several CS concentrations. I got an MBA from them a few years ago and was very satisfied.
An online degree is more than just reading and writing. (I'm speaking from experience - I got an MBA through an accredited online school that also has a traditional, brick-and-mortar facility.) A good program includes discussion facilities that provide exactly the sort of interactive experience you described.
It seems to me that Slashdot fits your criteria. Above the fold you have the latest headlines, a little advertising and links to other sections. Below the fold you have search functionality, a relevant quotation and links to past stories and other sites of potential interest.
The only point of difference is that Slashdot has the added criteria that all items have a technology slant but even within this restriction there's still the variety you described. Instead of sports, weather and entertainment we have Security, Anime and "Your Rights Online".
It seems that this tired argument is raised every time some heretic has the nerve to suggest that the public schools might not be right for their children. For some people the public school environment is great, for others it isn't. Deciding which is the case for a given child is a job for parents not bureacrats.
Going to the effort of "dig through layers of pages to [a] phone number" is worth the trouble. Email may be fast and convenient but you'll often get further faster by going in search of a live person and having an actual conversation.
What makes this interesting is that the hacker's are now taking them on in the business arena as well as the technical one and it looks like they may win the day there as well.
On the gripping hand, they often make more money off the DVD release anyway. Perhaps what we're really seeing is a transition to a market where the theatrical release is a loss leader for the home version.
So what do you want them to do? Ship CD's to every registered Windows owner at the company's expense?
I'll be the first to concede that a lot of the things mandated by the settlement are appropriate and that in some areas it didn't go far enough but that's not reasonable. MS already went footed the bill for creating the application and has made it freely available to any who want it.
I agree with the original poster that several of the 'industry groups' points are pretty whiny.
But don't wait until you're almost 40, already burnt out, and THEN decide you want this type of career
And why shouldn't you do this? There's a common perception in this country that you have to pick a career by the time you're 25 and then pursue it for the rest of your life. This was fine when the average life expectancy was 35. Now that it is well into the 80's I don't see any reason why people should allow themselves to be tied down at 50 by a decision they made 30 years ago.
Was it Diderot who said "Mankind will never be truly free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." I'm pretty sure it was but I'm too lazy to look it up.
Personally I think having to pay on top of the certification starts to be a bit much. If I pay the 5K and don't get any work out of it, what have they really done for me?
They've given you permission to use their label when looking for work
And it's not like you're required to pay every year come fire or flood. If it doesn't get work for you in the first year then you're free not to renew.
What's wrong with 'getting political philosophy' from sci-fi novels? Many sci-fi novels address the same fundamental issues as Plato, Hobbes and Mill but in a style that is appropriate to the modern era. I'm not saying the classical philosophers are no longer relevant - only that their manner of addressing issues doesn't speak as clearly to the modern reader.
Personally, I'll take a great idea wherever I can find it.
It's not wise from an implementation perspective. How could you implement such a system without alienating multiple ethnic communities? How could you implement such a system without having to weather legal challenges from groups such as the ACLU? How could you implement such a system without enduring a firestorm of negative publicity from the liberal media? How could you implement such a system without taking endless criticism from civil liberties groups?
And in the end what do you really have to show for your effort? A list of names any local cop could give you any time you asked and that would probably be more up to date coming from the cop who knows the community better than any database.
Slashdot Mirror
Because this is an international issue. Certainly we could force American web site operators to do this (subject to the other issues raised in previous responses) but what good would this really do? Asian operators will ignore the law, American operators will be at a disadvantage and the porn will still be as freely available as it was before the requirement.
Information may want to be free but bandwidth is another story.
You can't benefit from the government's largesse with your money by getting apples free . You do benefit, however, by paying an artificially reduced price for apples in your local megamart.
Unfortunately, the harmonization argument seems to be a one way street. Or do you think that harmonization will also make it harder for Congress to increase the term?
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they sold out. Do you have any evidence that any member of the court was bribed or coerced? If not, then you were stupid
Don't forget community colleges. They often have certificate programs in computer science that can be taught by anyone with sufficient experience regardless of whether or not they have a relevant degree.
So you can't buy beer but what's stopping you from buying the ingredients? Sounds like homebrewing may be the way to go for you.
I'm not sure where this idea that the good guys have to lose in the short term to win in the long came from. The other side can appeal too. FatWallet could win this round then one of the defendants in an excess of zeal or stupidity appeals and loses again in the appeals court. In fact, I would think the deep-pocketed retailers would be more likely to appeal than a small corporation or individual.
It is extreme. Your company would have to be pretty special for me to be willing to go to that much trouble. Remember, since I already have a job I have to take time off every time I go to meet with you. For two interviews that adds up to two half-days depending on how flexible your interview times are. Add a full day for this ropes course and my current employer is going to start to get suspicious. Not to mention those are vacation days that I'd rather spend with my other team (i.e. my family).
Yeah, it is. Something about suggesting that since the Irish land owners were sucking the life from their tenants they might as well speed up the process by eating their children.
You raised some good points. Let me answer a few of them.
If you want to be an air traffic controller you have to work for the government. If you want to be in the military you have to work for the government. If you want to work in law enforcement (i.e. investigate crimes and arrest people) you have to work for the government, etc. There are some professions that are exclusive to the government. I don't think any of the members of those professions think of themselves as "enslaved to a monopolistic government".
Good point - so anytime someone needs a lawyer one is assigned to them by lottery. You don't get to pick your air traffic controller or the cop who responds to your 911 call.
Because the IRS doesn't get to pick the people they "run to ground". Who gets audited is decided by a complex computer program that evaluates tax returns against complex metrics designed to identify those most likely to cheat.
You've raised some points that for various reasons have been on my mind over the last few months. In particular I've been thinking about the inability of the average American to afford (either by training or by purchase of service) access to our legal system. In what sense of the phrase is everyone "equal under the law" if some people/groups have access to better legal services than others. The obvious solution is this: nationalize the lawyers.
Now I'll admit I haven't spent a lot of time thinking this through but the idea has some obvious charms. Everyone from the poorest homeless person to the wealthiest corporation gets the same level of service and access. This could push the legal system to become more abritrative than adversarial - hopefully resulting in a renewed focus on the pursuit of justice rather than victory for its own sake. (I read about an interesting example of this a few years ago: A law firm started handling IRS audits on a flat fee basis. They had amazing settlement rates because the IRS knew they couldn't drag the proceedings out until the clients ran out of money to pay for their defense).
Baker College has a fully accredited, online Master's program that corresponds to their brick-and-mortar program. I don't know if they have a CS master's but they do have a 100% online MBA with several CS concentrations. I got an MBA from them a few years ago and was very satisfied.
An online degree is more than just reading and writing. (I'm speaking from experience - I got an MBA through an accredited online school that also has a traditional, brick-and-mortar facility.) A good program includes discussion facilities that provide exactly the sort of interactive experience you described.
It seems to me that Slashdot fits your criteria. Above the fold you have the latest headlines, a little advertising and links to other sections. Below the fold you have search functionality, a relevant quotation and links to past stories and other sites of potential interest.
The only point of difference is that Slashdot has the added criteria that all items have a technology slant but even within this restriction there's still the variety you described. Instead of sports, weather and entertainment we have Security, Anime and "Your Rights Online".
It seems that this tired argument is raised every time some heretic has the nerve to suggest that the public schools might not be right for their children. For some people the public school environment is great, for others it isn't. Deciding which is the case for a given child is a job for parents not bureacrats.
The emphasis is on "claims". When confronted on the issue they had a hasty conference and headed for the door.
Going to the effort of "dig through layers of pages to [a] phone number" is worth the trouble. Email may be fast and convenient but you'll often get further faster by going in search of a live person and having an actual conversation.
What makes this interesting is that the hacker's are now taking them on in the business arena as well as the technical one and it looks like they may win the day there as well.
On the gripping hand, they often make more money off the DVD release anyway. Perhaps what we're really seeing is a transition to a market where the theatrical release is a loss leader for the home version.
So what do you want them to do? Ship CD's to every registered Windows owner at the company's expense?
I'll be the first to concede that a lot of the things mandated by the settlement are appropriate and that in some areas it didn't go far enough but that's not reasonable. MS already went footed the bill for creating the application and has made it freely available to any who want it.
I agree with the original poster that several of the 'industry groups' points are pretty whiny.
And why shouldn't you do this? There's a common perception in this country that you have to pick a career by the time you're 25 and then pursue it for the rest of your life. This was fine when the average life expectancy was 35. Now that it is well into the 80's I don't see any reason why people should allow themselves to be tied down at 50 by a decision they made 30 years ago.
Was it Diderot who said "Mankind will never be truly free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." I'm pretty sure it was but I'm too lazy to look it up.
And it's not like you're required to pay every year come fire or flood. If it doesn't get work for you in the first year then you're free not to renew.
What's wrong with 'getting political philosophy' from sci-fi novels? Many sci-fi novels address the same fundamental issues as Plato, Hobbes and Mill but in a style that is appropriate to the modern era. I'm not saying the classical philosophers are no longer relevant - only that their manner of addressing issues doesn't speak as clearly to the modern reader.
Personally, I'll take a great idea wherever I can find it.
It's not wise from an implementation perspective. How could you implement such a system without alienating multiple ethnic communities? How could you implement such a system without having to weather legal challenges from groups such as the ACLU? How could you implement such a system without enduring a firestorm of negative publicity from the liberal media? How could you implement such a system without taking endless criticism from civil liberties groups?
And in the end what do you really have to show for your effort? A list of names any local cop could give you any time you asked and that would probably be more up to date coming from the cop who knows the community better than any database.