... and I can't find a country called Malysia (please note, editors: it's Malaysia).
I know Malaysia well (even though I live in the UK). I first went there in '97 and married a Malaysian-born woman. Some observations:
They really like and respect white people.
They don't particularly like Chinese people (my wife is half Chinese so I see rampant discrimination against this large minority - about 25% of Malaysia's population - all the time).
The weather is great (although sometimes a little too humid).
Kuala Lumpur is a very advanced city that can compare to anything in the West.
Broadband speeds are so-so according to my cousin-in-law.
There appears to be a demand for good engineers (according to another cousin-in-law, a Chinese who studied IT in England). So, assuming you can get a visa, getting some interesting work shouldn't be too hard.
The political situation there is... interesting. But I get the impression that if you don't cause trouble you will be left alone - especially if you are white.
"With his emergency powers, Mosaddegh tried to strengthen the democratic political institutions by limiting the monarchy's unconstitutional powers."
That sounds like a good thing to me.
Why did you selectively edit that quote from Wikipedia, omitting a critical part of the sentence? Here, let me reinstate it: "More popular than ever, a greatly strengthened Mosaddegh convinced parliament to grant him emergency powers..."
What's wrong with (temporarily) ruling by decree if those were the powers parliament legitimately gave him during a state of emergency?
Why is Mosaddegh called a tyrant in your post and the unelected Shah is not?
And why does any of this then give the United States and the UK the right to intervene?
(I cannot see the Time article because it is behind a paywall but since it was published in 1953 it will not have any benefit of hindsight.)
We are a democracy in the UK. If the people don't like the law banning "incitement to racial hatred", we get rid of it.
The freedom of speech argument is bogus. I'm fairly sure that the US has laws against slander, libel, shouting "fire!" in a crowded subway when there is none, advertising medicine as cure for cancer when there is no evidence, etc etc.
I am not an English lawyer but wife is. She pointed out to me that England has a long history of civil peace (our last revolution was in the 1640s), a legal system that has been copied by many countries throughout the world and is the first choice for foreign companies and Russian oligarchs to have their cases heard. English law must be doing something right.
You quote the article that says Dharun Twittered: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight" but your interpretation is the defendant "was kicked out of his own room for the night" and the victim was "throwing his roommate out".
Forgive me if I think you're not the best person to interpret what was going on.
I'm not American but I am fairly sure that your First Amendment does not give you the right to watch your roommate indulging in a sexual encounter when he has asked for privacy. Please correct me if I am wrong on this.
Seems that even Alan Greenspan agrees with you that H1Bs are a racket:
"But an additional contributor to inequality in America is our immigration law, which “protects” many high earners from skilled migrant competitors. The American H1B programme is in effect a subsidy for the wealthy, a policy that is anathema to the supporters of capitalism."
Yeah, how could the Slashdot editors confuse Iran and Iraq? One is an oil-rich country who's government was toppled by Britain and America and the other is... oh, wait...
"If we want to solve this problem, we must cut aid to areas which cannot sustain itself. I realize that's harsh, but creating a life does not entitle it to live."
Not only is that brutal but judging by trade deficits, it's countries like the US that are not sustainable.
... or you could have two straight lines. Or you could have many curves with several localized maximum points. Or you could have...
You're really missing the point of the grandparent post.
And as for your puerile ad hominem attack that I must have gone to a government school, I schooled in Europe where we have some excellent government schools.
Absolutely. And if you really feel that bad about the banks, then what greater pleasure than taking their money:-)
Writing software for banks is probably the only time you'll be paid well as an engineer.
I've worked at Goldmans for a few years and they treat their people well, they pay engineers good money and treat them with respect. Blankfein himself when called before the Financial Crises Inquiry Commission mentioned how much Goldman owed to its risk analysis system. Damn right. It's the best on the Street. That was an interesting piece of engineering for which their guys were rightly rewarded.
And on another note - why does everybody give Goldman shit? They didn't accept money from the Government (unless you count the TARP money that they were forced to accept and paid back at the first opportunity), like everybody else they lost money on the sub-prime market (although much less than their peers) and as for ethics? Well, they're at least no worse than anybody else. They're just slightly smarter.
Everybody likes a villain but real life is not a Bond movie.
Reminds me of when The Economist was predicting the doom of Google:
"Punters would be much wiser to read about Google’s IPO than to invest in it, if only to tell their children about a company they haven’t heard of because it no longer exists." - April 30 2004
"But Google has another disadvantage... competition is fierce, not only with Yahoo!'s advertising arm, Overture, but with smaller players such as FindWhat.com and Kanoodle." - April 29 2004
"In trying to morph into an operating-system firm or online ad agency, Google is less a leader than a novice." - April 29 2004
These quote seem laughable a few years later but some people just don't seem to get it. Google isn't going away anytime soon.
People! RyanAir's CEO makes these crazy suggestions for the news coverage! He has no intention of going through with any of these mad schemes. He just does it because he believes any publicity is good publicity.
And judging by RyanAir's share price on the London and Dublin stock exchange since last week when this was first announced, it's a plan that has some merit...
I've been making good money these last 5 years working for Wall St banks - so I'm possibly doing something right. The conclusions I've come to are (in no particular order):
Specialize in a broad discipline:-P While I agree that you must show a willingness to change and adapt, I don't think that necessarily means learning new languages. There is still a shortage of people who know established languages and libraries intimately.
No matter what those with techno-ADHD say, Java and Csharp are not going anywhere for the forseeable future - at least in the banking industry.
This will get you a job. But to keep the job: by far the most important thing is to cause as few problems for your managers as possible.
I cannot emphasize enough how important a sense of humor is sometimes.
Become a self-employed consultant as soon as possible. If you're stuck in a contract that's dull, you take 3 months out when it ends to learn something sexy.
As a self-employed consultant, you do not need to worry about the bad decisions made by your PHB. You give them your professional advice but stress that you respect that it is their football and that you will abide by their decisions. Do this with a smile and you will never be lacking well-paid work.
So, in short, a mix of hard- and soft-skills.
Not exactly rocket science, eh?
Re:H1b visas and the job market
on
The Real Science Gap
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I agree.
Assertion: history shows that using cheap labor stifles scientific development. Here are some examples:
Hero of Alexander had a working steam engine as early as the 3rd Century BC. But in a society where slave labor was plentiful, there was no need to refine the invention.
The South in the American civil war was poorer that the industrial North *because* not despite of slavery. With slaves, there was no need to industrialize.
The main reason Japan has not extended the automation that, for instance, revolutionized the automobile industry in the 70s and 80s is that it's cheaper to employ an army of Chinese workers.
What do we learn from this? That using cheap labor is short-termism at the expense of our development. Three of my four examples use the extreme examples of slavery, but the principle is the same. If anybody has counter-examples, I'd be pleased to see them.
Yes, I've been to San Fran (I lived there and the Bay Area for 2 years back in the '90s). Apart from the Castro area, I found it pretty much like any other city. And although the Castro area is predominantly gay, I don't feel the need to put that in an unrelated Slashdot post. Who cares?
And as for your comments on Islam: let's not dwell on the fact you don't address criticism of your melodramatic claims that it is a "death cult" but let's instead look at your case concerning Mohammed's child bride. I was aware of this part of the Qu'ran. But you have to bear in mind that marriage of pre-pubescent girls was typical for its time and that the same was probably true of Mary and Joseph (see the BBC's documentary on what typical life in Palestine would have been like at the time of Jesus).
I'm not saying one religion is better than another (I'm an atheist) but you have to judge both by the same standards.
Slashdot Mirror
I know Malaysia well (even though I live in the UK). I first went there in '97 and married a Malaysian-born woman. Some observations:
HTH
If you can give me a decent selection of companies that curb executive compensation, I'll invest. Unfortunately, they're all doing it.
Are we reading the same Wikipedia page?
"With his emergency powers, Mosaddegh tried to strengthen the democratic political institutions by limiting the monarchy's unconstitutional powers."
That sounds like a good thing to me.
Why did you selectively edit that quote from Wikipedia, omitting a critical part of the sentence? Here, let me reinstate it: " More popular than ever, a greatly strengthened Mosaddegh convinced parliament to grant him emergency powers..."
What's wrong with (temporarily) ruling by decree if those were the powers parliament legitimately gave him during a state of emergency?
Why is Mosaddegh called a tyrant in your post and the unelected Shah is not?
And why does any of this then give the United States and the UK the right to intervene?
(I cannot see the Time article because it is behind a paywall but since it was published in 1953 it will not have any benefit of hindsight.)
A counter coup? Citation needed.
Mosaddegh's was democratically elected (citations provided).
Nice. But how about:
A software engineer writes tests.
You're correct that there was no jury but this was because he had admitted to the offense.
His lawyer would have warned about the possible consequences of this as that is part of their job.
We are a democracy in the UK. If the people don't like the law banning "incitement to racial hatred", we get rid of it.
The freedom of speech argument is bogus. I'm fairly sure that the US has laws against slander, libel, shouting "fire!" in a crowded subway when there is none, advertising medicine as cure for cancer when there is no evidence, etc etc.
I am not an English lawyer but wife is. She pointed out to me that England has a long history of civil peace (our last revolution was in the 1640s), a legal system that has been copied by many countries throughout the world and is the first choice for foreign companies and Russian oligarchs to have their cases heard. English law must be doing something right.
"These guys were sent to prison for encouraging rioting on Facebook ..."
Incitement to violence is a serious crime! How can you question democracy on the basis of a fair jury finding the accused guilty?
He was found guilty of inciting racial hatred by a jury of his peers.
And yes, we take that pretty seriously over here.
You quote the article that says Dharun Twittered: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight" but your interpretation is the defendant "was kicked out of his own room for the night" and the victim was "throwing his roommate out".
Forgive me if I think you're not the best person to interpret what was going on.
I'm not American but I am fairly sure that your First Amendment does not give you the right to watch your roommate indulging in a sexual encounter when he has asked for privacy. Please correct me if I am wrong on this.
Cringely couldn't predict a fart in a bathtub but boy! he wrote an entertaining book.
Seems that even Alan Greenspan agrees with you that H1Bs are a racket:
"But an additional contributor to inequality in America is our immigration law, which “protects” many high earners from skilled migrant competitors. The American H1B programme is in effect a subsidy for the wealthy, a policy that is anathema to the supporters of capitalism."
From yesterday's Financial Times (26 January 2012).
Yeah, how could the Slashdot editors confuse Iran and Iraq? One is an oil-rich country who's government was toppled by Britain and America and the other is... oh, wait...
No, you did your maths wrong. $500 billion is 1/30th of the US's annual GDP (that is, about 3%).
From your own link:
GDP (official exchange rate):
$14.66 trillion (2010 est.)
"If we want to solve this problem, we must cut aid to areas which cannot sustain itself. I realize that's harsh, but creating a life does not entitle it to live."
Not only is that brutal but judging by trade deficits, it's countries like the US that are not sustainable.
Please bring your child here...
... or you could have two straight lines. Or you could have many curves with several localized maximum points. Or you could have...
You're really missing the point of the grandparent post.
And as for your puerile ad hominem attack that I must have gone to a government school, I schooled in Europe where we have some excellent government schools.
Good day to you.
Two points don't make a curve.
Absolutely. And if you really feel that bad about the banks, then what greater pleasure than taking their money :-)
Writing software for banks is probably the only time you'll be paid well as an engineer.
I've worked at Goldmans for a few years and they treat their people well, they pay engineers good money and treat them with respect. Blankfein himself when called before the Financial Crises Inquiry Commission mentioned how much Goldman owed to its risk analysis system. Damn right. It's the best on the Street. That was an interesting piece of engineering for which their guys were rightly rewarded.
And on another note - why does everybody give Goldman shit? They didn't accept money from the Government (unless you count the TARP money that they were forced to accept and paid back at the first opportunity), like everybody else they lost money on the sub-prime market (although much less than their peers) and as for ethics? Well, they're at least no worse than anybody else. They're just slightly smarter.
Everybody likes a villain but real life is not a Bond movie.
Reminds me of when The Economist was predicting the doom of Google:
"Punters would be much wiser to read about Google’s IPO than to invest in it, if only to tell their children about a company they haven’t heard of because it no longer exists." - April 30 2004
"But Google has another disadvantage ... competition is fierce, not only with Yahoo!'s advertising arm, Overture, but with smaller players such as FindWhat.com and Kanoodle." - April 29 2004
"In trying to morph into an operating-system firm or online ad agency, Google is less a leader than a novice." - April 29 2004
These quote seem laughable a few years later but some people just don't seem to get it. Google isn't going away anytime soon.
The weird thing is why people keep saying it is.
Let's not forget his charging passengers for using the plane's toilets:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7914542.stm
People! RyanAir's CEO makes these crazy suggestions for the news coverage! He has no intention of going through with any of these mad schemes. He just does it because he believes any publicity is good publicity.
And judging by RyanAir's share price on the London and Dublin stock exchange since last week when this was first announced, it's a plan that has some merit...
I've been making good money these last 5 years working for Wall St banks - so I'm possibly doing something right. The conclusions I've come to are (in no particular order):
So, in short, a mix of hard- and soft-skills.
Not exactly rocket science, eh?
I agree.
Assertion: history shows that using cheap labor stifles scientific development. Here are some examples:
What do we learn from this? That using cheap labor is short-termism at the expense of our development. Three of my four examples use the extreme examples of slavery, but the principle is the same. If anybody has counter-examples, I'd be pleased to see them.
Yes, I've been to San Fran (I lived there and the Bay Area for 2 years back in the '90s). Apart from the Castro area, I found it pretty much like any other city. And although the Castro area is predominantly gay, I don't feel the need to put that in an unrelated Slashdot post. Who cares?
And as for your comments on Islam: let's not dwell on the fact you don't address criticism of your melodramatic claims that it is a "death cult" but let's instead look at your case concerning Mohammed's child bride. I was aware of this part of the Qu'ran. But you have to bear in mind that marriage of pre-pubescent girls was typical for its time and that the same was probably true of Mary and Joseph (see the BBC's documentary on what typical life in Palestine would have been like at the time of Jesus).
I'm not saying one religion is better than another (I'm an atheist) but you have to judge both by the same standards.
it definitely makes people dumber. There is no sense of scale and no memory of past events any more
On the contrary. It allows us to see the history of Slashdot posters such as yourself. Take this gem:
Regarding Islam: "Why is it that showing pictures of a 7th-century pedophile who started a death cult is somehow "offensive"? The whole fucking religion is OFFENSIVE"
Or this pearl of wisdom:
"Islam is fundamentally evil ... the 7th century death cult, it doesn't mean shit to me."
You like that expression, eh? Take you a few hours to come with it, hmm? And who can forget the classic:
"...even Muslim "scholars" argue over the building timeframe. [It] is more than 50 years after Mohammed's (ptooie) death"
It's pretty clear which side of the fence you sit on regarding this tragic loss of life.
And just in case we're in any doubt about your feelings to other people who are different to you, let's take a look at this insightful comment:
"...say around San Francisco (the city full of gay [sic] )"
Bravo.
And even if there is some correlation, people need to put it in perspective.
The last time I talked to a flat-earth-er about their fear of cell phones causing cancer, they had a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Now that, Alanis Morrissette, is irony.