Please Mod the parent up.
To my eyes, it look like a fake prop, which would likely be standard procedure. For example,
here's a link to a known photo of the USS Ohio, the first Trident missile sub. Note that the propeller is fully submerged in the known photo.
I want to call a shenanigans on the whole DRM thing. DRM is a reflected, second order 'right' which citizenry can reject, given sufficient provocation. The tipping point will come, I promise you. I don't know when, where, or what the trigger is. But it will happen, and when it does, the resulting battle will be quite entertaining...
You have been living under a rock.
Something like 20% of American productivity gains
in the '90's can be directly attributed to WalMart. (Productivity, remember, is the engine that drives wealth and, ultimately, your standard of living). Further, the wages paid in China and other Third World 'paradises' becomes the seed capital of their own businesses, leading to more wealth creation, and ultimately a higher standard of living for everyone. You included. Back Stateside, WalMart passes most of its efficiencies on to its customers, they gain welcome price relief across a product line that encompasses much that is needed and even wanted in life. Further, their competition drives ineffficient, subpar companies *cough*MonkyWard*cough* to improve or go under, freeing labor and capital to be reinvested in more efficient ventures. Again, helping everyone's standard of living, yours included. There have been some concerns about wage rates and health care coverage, but those can be addressed, and don't necessarily imply evil.
So, where's the problem?
It's not that they don't care, but rather, that they grudgingly accept their place in the pecking order. The empires are now called "Corporations", the Kings, CEO's. And nation-states have been reduced to bit players in a global drama. And part of that drama includes Microsoft demanding fealty to rules that it ignores. Bit players, plotting against the emperor. And peasants desperately trying to avoid being squashed.
History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme...
That's the problem: they can't shut their pie-holes. China's thugocracy might as well rename itself the China Ruling Party, France's media are funded by the government, Saudi Arabia is hopeless, and Brazil has a walk-in closet full of skeletons. Meantime, Europe leads the world in hot-air exports, and France is in a class by itself.
This is all about ego. The Bushies should call their bluff...
Great post! Lsst line is half right. Let me take a whack at it:
'For a broad-scale working example of the above, look at opponents of the the current U.S. administration.'
The heck you say? Well, how about Lynne Stewart? The current NARAL ad smearing John Roberts?
BushHitler??!! Nothing, but NOTHING, says it all better than calling a smirking, occaisionally obnoxious politician the equivalent of one of History's 5 worst monsters. If you ever referred to Bush in anything like those terms, Fantastic Lad is talking about YOU. Whether you like it or not. Whether he MEANT it or not.
P.S.: I also suggest reading Christopher Hitchens' latest for more insight from a true-blue Trotskyist who is as sick as I am of the Left's selling it's Soul over Iraq.
Russia, along with many other countries, are known as "1 Serial Number" countries - 1 S/N, endlessly copied. I agree, it's pure gravy as far as MS is concerned...
We did grow a brain, and what we learned was...
We only spend about 4% of GDP on defense, down from 12% during the height of the Cold War. In effect, we have hegemony on the cheap......case studies have repeatedly shown that discipline and parental involvement, not money, are the best predictors of academic success......"The best defense is a good offense" is the US military's credo, and piece of hard won wisdom. Those big toys keep EXPENSIVE wars from happening around the world. See Taiwan/China, Greece/Turkey, the Koreas......The budget will only get worse, as the Air Force & Navy are forced to replace the planes bought during the 1980's. Every tanker, transport, and fighter needs to be replaced this decade (ouch), and we should do it gladly because of the options in peacekeeping, humanitarian and enforcement options this force gives us......Don't believe me? Fine. Ask the EU, who is so grren with envy they're considering setting up their own military, complete w/ Big Budget, just to be able to compete with us on the world stage...
He actually has a proper, *capitalistic* idea, in that we may spend our money as we choose, and choosing not to spend it on copyrighted works will put downward pressure on their worth (Econ 101). Money draining from a businessman's pocket has a wonderful tendency to focus the mind...
Slashdot Mirror
Please Mod the parent up. To my eyes, it look like a fake prop, which would likely be standard procedure. For example, here's a link to a known photo of the USS Ohio, the first Trident missile sub. Note that the propeller is fully submerged in the known photo.
You must be new here... ...That's precisely /.'s charm, BTW...
I want to call a shenanigans on the whole DRM thing. DRM is a reflected, second order 'right' which citizenry can reject, given sufficient provocation. The tipping point will come, I promise you. I don't know when, where, or what the trigger is. But it will happen, and when it does, the resulting battle will be quite entertaining...
You have been living under a rock. Something like 20% of American productivity gains in the '90's can be directly attributed to WalMart. (Productivity, remember, is the engine that drives wealth and, ultimately, your standard of living). Further, the wages paid in China and other Third World 'paradises' becomes the seed capital of their own businesses, leading to more wealth creation, and ultimately a higher standard of living for everyone. You included. Back Stateside, WalMart passes most of its efficiencies on to its customers, they gain welcome price relief across a product line that encompasses much that is needed and even wanted in life. Further, their competition drives ineffficient, subpar companies *cough*MonkyWard*cough* to improve or go under, freeing labor and capital to be reinvested in more efficient ventures. Again, helping everyone's standard of living, yours included. There have been some concerns about wage rates and health care coverage, but those can be addressed, and don't necessarily imply evil. So, where's the problem?
Marxists...
It's not that they don't care, but rather, that they grudgingly accept their place in the pecking order. The empires are now called "Corporations", the Kings, CEO's. And nation-states have been reduced to bit players in a global drama. And part of that drama includes Microsoft demanding fealty to rules that it ignores. Bit players, plotting against the emperor. And peasants desperately trying to avoid being squashed. History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme...
...And?
That's the problem: they can't shut their pie-holes. China's thugocracy might as well rename itself the China Ruling Party, France's media are funded by the government, Saudi Arabia is hopeless, and Brazil has a walk-in closet full of skeletons. Meantime, Europe leads the world in hot-air exports, and France is in a class by itself.
This is all about ego. The Bushies should call their bluff...
'For a broad-scale working example of the above, look at opponents of the the current U.S. administration.'
The heck you say? Well, how about Lynne Stewart? The current NARAL ad smearing John Roberts?
BushHitler??!! Nothing, but NOTHING, says it all better than calling a smirking, occaisionally obnoxious politician the equivalent of one of History's 5 worst monsters. If you ever referred to Bush in anything like those terms, Fantastic Lad is talking about YOU. Whether you like it or not. Whether he MEANT it or not.
P.S.: I also suggest reading Christopher Hitchens' latest for more insight from a true-blue Trotskyist who is as sick as I am of the Left's selling it's Soul over Iraq.
Must... resist... sub 300K uid... snark...
Once? At most? Cool! That means that the "two-term limit" hasn't kicked in, and W is free to run once or twice more. Dubya '12, anyone?
Nice to see good experiances, but when I saw that "CompUSA" was mixed up in an unethical situation, I just wrote it off as par for that course...
Russia, along with many other countries, are known as "1 Serial Number" countries - 1 S/N, endlessly copied. I agree, it's pure gravy as far as MS is concerned...
We did grow a brain, and what we learned was... We only spend about 4% of GDP on defense, down from 12% during the height of the Cold War. In effect, we have hegemony on the cheap... ...case studies have repeatedly shown that discipline and parental involvement, not money, are the best predictors of academic success... ..."The best defense is a good offense" is the US military's credo, and piece of hard won wisdom. Those big toys keep EXPENSIVE wars from happening around the world. See Taiwan/China, Greece/Turkey, the Koreas... ...The budget will only get worse, as the Air Force & Navy are forced to replace the planes bought during the 1980's. Every tanker, transport, and fighter needs to be replaced this decade (ouch), and we should do it gladly because of the options in peacekeeping, humanitarian and enforcement options this force gives us... ...Don't believe me? Fine. Ask the EU, who is so grren with envy they're considering setting up their own military, complete w/ Big Budget, just to be able to compete with us on the world stage...
STFU? Tsk tsk. Sooooo 1999.
He actually has a proper, *capitalistic* idea, in that we may spend our money as we choose, and choosing not to spend it on copyrighted works will put downward pressure on their worth (Econ 101). Money draining from a businessman's pocket has a wonderful tendency to focus the mind...