Sorry, but sometimes it would be nice, just once, to hear someone say, "you know, it's really good that the United States helped out after that tsunami" or "gee, thank God the U.S. was there to put food on our table". We get battered a lot in matters of world opinion and much of it is justified (certainly after Bush took office and 9/11 happened) but we do some good here and there too.
Things like the whole "Freedom Fries" incident, may have been cute over in America, but was treated with disbelief over here in the UK. We in the UK, have decades of non-serious Antagonism with the French (though deep down, we do respect them). However, we would never as a whole do that.
Neither did we. Like many other non-Americans I converse with, you also assume a degree of uniformity of opinion and belief among us that simply does not exist. I will repeat that. DOES NOT EXIST. Or perhaps what is happening is that we, as a people, are being judged solely by the actions and expressed opinions of our current Administration. You tell me. That would be unfortunate, if true, given how few of us actually agree with our leaders on, well, much of anything.
But so far as the Freedom Fries Incident is concerned, everyone that I know was rather disbelieving of the whole event, and more than a little disturbed. I know no-one who thought it "cute". We all felt it was a childish response, and I don't know anyone that went to a restaurant and actually ordered "Freedom Fries". Too embarrassing all the way around. Besides, French Fries have been around for a long, long time here, and that's that... GWB doesn't get to defy long-standing tradition to suit his political whim. They're French Fries, have always been French Fries, and always will be French Fries.
To any French people who actually were insulted (rather than mildly amused) you have my apologies.
The USA simply has the power to fuck up the world the most, and seems to be good at it.
And we are different in what way from any other major economic power throughout history? You seem to conveniently forget the trillions the U.S. has spent helping (or at least trying to help) people in other nations. Oh sure, you can point to Iraq and say, "See, all you do is fuck things up" but there are a few million people that aren't starving right now because of all the money and resources we send abroad. Maybe it's about time we start thinking a little more about ourselves and less about the rest of you. Of course, you'd complain about that too. Probably start building missiles and warheads like North Korea to extort more food and heating oil from us.
I'd like a more balanced world situation, but then again that would probably lead to a Cold War II or WWIII.
Well, let's see. China is doing it's absolute best to finish what Japan started: the complete and total decimation of American industrial capability, and with it our military and our way of life. Now, whether China will be any more "balanced" in its treatment of other nations than the U.S. has been remains to be seen... but one should always be careful what one wishes for. One just might get it.
No, because a. we get stereotyped as badly as we supposedly stereotype everyone else (I personally don't care enough to stereotype anyone, I assume other people are capable of forming their own opinions, and if they don't like my not caring about their "culture" then so be it) and b. it's just too much fun to complain about us at every opportunity. It kinda cracks me up, in a way, because of all countries America is so culturally divisive, so fractious, that any claim of "all Americans believe 'x'" is patently ridiculous.
Uh huh. Do you have any idea what you're talking about? No? Good... go Google some election results and then come back with that remark, assuming you can still walk after shooting holes in both feet.
Do they hate America, do they hate that for which America has traditionally stood, or do they just hate George W. Bush and his cronies? Just in case it's news to you, a lot of us Americans aren't all that enamored of GWB and Co.
In any event, saying "we hate America" means you're doing one awful lot of hating. I've known some Australians that were complete jackasses as well... but I don't say "I hate Australia". I just express distaste for those particular idiots.
Did you know in the fine state of Illinois that a. cops cannot be held liable if they arrest you by mistake and treat you like a criminal and b. cops are using microphones and listening in to conversations in passing cars. I know some people that got pulled over and had their car searched because they said "pot".
More to the point from my perspective as an American, most of the companies involved in this are not American, or even based in the United States. Personally, the very idea of our political leaders accepting bribes^H^H^H^H^H^Hcompaign contributions from foreign interests in exchange for modifications to our legal system smacks of high treason. Of course, that doesn't make this any less the responsibility of the citizenry of this country to fix... as soon as we figure out how. Voting doesn't seem to work so well anymore.
Both companies seek total domination and are getting more desperate as they see their dominance starting to erode.
True enough in Microsoft's case but is Wal-Mart's dominance really starting to erode? I've seen Service Merchandises close, K-Marts, Sears, you-name-it... but Wal-Marts seem to keep popping up everywhere.
No... the real question, in that case, is why a computer repairman would be performing what amounts to computer forensics on a client's computer.
Regardless, you have some groups (the RIAA, MPAA, and others like them) who would like nothing better than to see ISPs and services such as Google forced into the role of high-tech censor, and worse, be made responsible for what sites they merely link to. Then there's everyone else who would prefer otherwise. Be very careful when requesting that a corporate or government entity be granted such power: odds are, in the long run you'll regret it.
Here are some more well-established facts. I live in the U.S. and my government a. doesn't do anything for low costs and hasn't a clue what that phrase means and b. what medical care it does provide is generally not of high quality. Medicare is better than nothing, I suppose, but not by a whole lot.
The real question isn't whether universal coverage vs. on-demand care is inherently better... I refuse to be drawn into that debate because there are valid arguments either way and whether or not one is truly better depends too much on the particular culture implementing it. However, when it comes to universal coverage of any kind, it's ultimately a matter of a particular government's bureacracy being capable of managing that kind of money well. Ours isn't. End of story.
Nah... it's been -10 degrees around here the past few days. I think the tubes are just frozen, that's all. Soon as the weather warms up a little they'll thaw out and everything will be OK again.
and they have the right to believe that it is a private space (much like your house).
I suppose people everywhere pretty much have a right to believe whatever they want... well, maybe not a right enshrined in law but people will tend to believe whatever they want. On the other hand, just because you believe your computer is a private space doesn't mean that it is such a space, and in the modern world it probably isn't. If your government doesn't own your box odds are someone does, and it's a toss-up as to which would be better.
Actually, disclosing a vulnerability does often entail creating executable code to exploit it: how else do you prove the vulnerability really exists? Actually releasing said code... that's a different matter.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, but sometimes it would be nice, just once, to hear someone say, "you know, it's really good that the United States helped out after that tsunami" or "gee, thank God the U.S. was there to put food on our table". We get battered a lot in matters of world opinion and much of it is justified (certainly after Bush took office and 9/11 happened) but we do some good here and there too.
Things like the whole "Freedom Fries" incident, may have been cute over in America, but was treated with disbelief over here in the UK. We in the UK, have decades of non-serious Antagonism with the French (though deep down, we do respect them). However, we would never as a whole do that.
... GWB doesn't get to defy long-standing tradition to suit his political whim. They're French Fries, have always been French Fries, and always will be French Fries.
Neither did we. Like many other non-Americans I converse with, you also assume a degree of uniformity of opinion and belief among us that simply does not exist. I will repeat that. DOES NOT EXIST. Or perhaps what is happening is that we, as a people, are being judged solely by the actions and expressed opinions of our current Administration. You tell me. That would be unfortunate, if true, given how few of us actually agree with our leaders on, well, much of anything.
But so far as the Freedom Fries Incident is concerned, everyone that I know was rather disbelieving of the whole event, and more than a little disturbed. I know no-one who thought it "cute". We all felt it was a childish response, and I don't know anyone that went to a restaurant and actually ordered "Freedom Fries". Too embarrassing all the way around. Besides, French Fries have been around for a long, long time here, and that's that
To any French people who actually were insulted (rather than mildly amused) you have my apologies.
The USA simply has the power to fuck up the world the most, and seems to be good at it.
... but one should always be careful what one wishes for. One just might get it.
And we are different in what way from any other major economic power throughout history? You seem to conveniently forget the trillions the U.S. has spent helping (or at least trying to help) people in other nations. Oh sure, you can point to Iraq and say, "See, all you do is fuck things up" but there are a few million people that aren't starving right now because of all the money and resources we send abroad. Maybe it's about time we start thinking a little more about ourselves and less about the rest of you. Of course, you'd complain about that too. Probably start building missiles and warheads like North Korea to extort more food and heating oil from us.
I'd like a more balanced world situation, but then again that would probably lead to a Cold War II or WWIII.
Well, let's see. China is doing it's absolute best to finish what Japan started: the complete and total decimation of American industrial capability, and with it our military and our way of life. Now, whether China will be any more "balanced" in its treatment of other nations than the U.S. has been remains to be seen
No, because a. we get stereotyped as badly as we supposedly stereotype everyone else (I personally don't care enough to stereotype anyone, I assume other people are capable of forming their own opinions, and if they don't like my not caring about their "culture" then so be it) and b. it's just too much fun to complain about us at every opportunity. It kinda cracks me up, in a way, because of all countries America is so culturally divisive, so fractious, that any claim of "all Americans believe 'x'" is patently ridiculous.
Uh huh. Do you have any idea what you're talking about? No? Good ... go Google some election results and then come back with that remark, assuming you can still walk after shooting holes in both feet.
Do they hate America, do they hate that for which America has traditionally stood, or do they just hate George W. Bush and his cronies? Just in case it's news to you, a lot of us Americans aren't all that enamored of GWB and Co.
... but I don't say "I hate Australia". I just express distaste for those particular idiots.
In any event, saying "we hate America" means you're doing one awful lot of hating. I've known some Australians that were complete jackasses as well
Did you know in the fine state of Illinois that a. cops cannot be held liable if they arrest you by mistake and treat you like a criminal and b. cops are using microphones and listening in to conversations in passing cars. I know some people that got pulled over and had their car searched because they said "pot".
Yeah, Illinois has its problems all right.
It lasted until the Feds got control of most of our money.
More to the point from my perspective as an American, most of the companies involved in this are not American, or even based in the United States. Personally, the very idea of our political leaders accepting bribes^H^H^H^H^H^Hcompaign contributions from foreign interests in exchange for modifications to our legal system smacks of high treason. Of course, that doesn't make this any less the responsibility of the citizenry of this country to fix ... as soon as we figure out how. Voting doesn't seem to work so well anymore.
Go ahead ... tell him. You'll just have to kill him anyway.
Caveat Emptor
" ... and any scientist with a reasonable project can burn cycles."
Define "reasonable".
Yes, and I think that while those trends were in force for a long time, you can look at World War II as an inflection point for big government.
Both companies seek total domination and are getting more desperate as they see their dominance starting to erode.
... but Wal-Marts seem to keep popping up everywhere.
True enough in Microsoft's case but is Wal-Mart's dominance really starting to erode? I've seen Service Merchandises close, K-Marts, Sears, you-name-it
I swear it's getting almost as bad as Wal-Greens.
I may have an overy simplistic view of things though.
Perhaps, but I think it more likely that our elected leaders have an overly complex view of things.
No ... the real question, in that case, is why a computer repairman would be performing what amounts to computer forensics on a client's computer.
Regardless, you have some groups (the RIAA, MPAA, and others like them) who would like nothing better than to see ISPs and services such as Google forced into the role of high-tech censor, and worse, be made responsible for what sites they merely link to. Then there's everyone else who would prefer otherwise. Be very careful when requesting that a corporate or government entity be granted such power: odds are, in the long run you'll regret it.
... it's a fucking gene!
If somebody finds that gene and patents it we're all in trouble.
Here are some more well-established facts. I live in the U.S. and my government a. doesn't do anything for low costs and hasn't a clue what that phrase means and b. what medical care it does provide is generally not of high quality. Medicare is better than nothing, I suppose, but not by a whole lot.
... I refuse to be drawn into that debate because there are valid arguments either way and whether or not one is truly better depends too much on the particular culture implementing it. However, when it comes to universal coverage of any kind, it's ultimately a matter of a particular government's bureacracy being capable of managing that kind of money well. Ours isn't. End of story.
The real question isn't whether universal coverage vs. on-demand care is inherently better
On the other hand, if the backlight is on, the little DC-DC converter in there is producing a substantial voltage.
Nah ... it's been -10 degrees around here the past few days. I think the tubes are just frozen, that's all. Soon as the weather warms up a little they'll thaw out and everything will be OK again.
and they have the right to believe that it is a private space (much like your house).
... well, maybe not a right enshrined in law but people will tend to believe whatever they want. On the other hand, just because you believe your computer is a private space doesn't mean that it is such a space, and in the modern world it probably isn't. If your government doesn't own your box odds are someone does, and it's a toss-up as to which would be better.
I suppose people everywhere pretty much have a right to believe whatever they want
Actually, disclosing a vulnerability does often entail creating executable code to exploit it: how else do you prove the vulnerability really exists? Actually releasing said code ... that's a different matter.
The world would be a better place if Microsoft were restricted, period.
The media has always been where Jack Thompson does most of his "fighting", that he happens to be a lawyer is incidental.
As the Supreme Court said, "Substantial non-infringing uses."