It seems to me that in a forum where adults discuss the case, the answer "should be" no but in a forum where children come to play, the answer "should be" yes.
There's many practical problems with making these distinctions, and no doubt repressive governments get it wrong all the time, but as a general principle what's the difference between publishing a photo and publishing a link to the photo?
...a lot of very simple statutes are hard to read, simply because of the formatting, but properly formatted, are not hard at all. For example, 18 USC 1001:
"...whoever, in any matter
within the jurisdiction of the
executive,
legislative,
or judicial branch
of the Government of the United States,
knowingly and willfully--
falsifies,
conceals, or
covers up
by any trick, scheme, or device
a material fact...
Shall be fined under this title,
imprisoned not more than 5 years ...or both."
Well, yes and no. The stuff for which there really is a national security interest would, and should be, secret. But what the historians et cetera were looking for were almost certainly not the real security stuff, e.g. how to make a nuke, but things about the development, e.g. budgets, tables of organization, organizational processes...things that wouldn't be terribly useful to a terrorist.
Actually, the problem with the article is that it doesn't characterize the data kept secret; it would be easier to discuss this matter if we knew what sort of information the historians were looking for.
Your "entirely misleading" snipe was not a valid counterpoint. If you were trying to say "there's more to it that that" well, that would be a valid counterpoint, but there is nothing misleading about what I stated.
At any rate, your economic analysis of Big Pharma is simply incorrect, as is obvious when you consider that the return on investment for the entire sector is extraordinarily high. You may find it easier to think of it like gambling; Pharma necessarily places a lot of losing bets, but the payoff on the few winners result in a higher payout than with almost any other sector of investment.
If they implemented this law in my state (Washington), I'd just stop buying any CDs (new or used) and get them all from the library system. I already preview a lot of music that way; it's free, and you can search their database of available titles to order what you want, to be delivered to the nearest library which I visit weekly anyway.
Of course, I have to send the CDs back after a month; if only there were a way to hold on to that music on my laptop;-)
That's not really relevant to the question whether Big Pharma is especially innovative; it is scarcely a contestable issue. A huge amount of effort goes into 'me, too!' drugs of dubious utility that exist solely for the purpose of extending the effective lifetime of the effective monopoly on its production (notice the word "effective" before engaging in a legalistic argument.)
Reasonable profit margins take into account recoupment of fixed costs and risk, but Big Pharma's margins go way, way beyond that. And they are able to go beyond that because the barriers to entry into the Pharma market place are very high --->>> those very high fixed costs you spoke about distort the workings of the free market so that the governments that protect the market may have to step in to preserve it.
>Without phenomenal payoffs there would not be any incentive to do it.
False.
You started your reply by accusing me of being misleading, which is not helpful, but I will not reply in kind.
I was not a detailed analysis of Big Pharma, but merely replying briefly, so it is entirely irrelevant that the reply wasn't detailed enough to suit you.
The argument that huge cash payouts are necessary to motive huge efforts is based on an incorrect notion of humanity; plenty of risky human endeavors have been conducted without the promise of phenomenal cash payouts, simply because it is in the nature of humankind to conduct adventure (both physical and intellectual).
Precisely. It's not like Brazil is trying to enrich itself by stealing, let us saying, the source code for an operating system. It's fighting an emergency. The Big Pharma position is that it should drive Brazil to ruin in order to profit from the emergency.
>Where do you think the research for the next AIDS drug will come from?
Mostly funded by taxpayers, then handed over to Big Pharma, as usual.
"...the pharmaceutical industry is not especially innovative. As hard as it is to believe, only a handful of truly important drugs have been brought to market in recent years, and they were mostly based on taxpayer-funded research at academic institutions, small biotechnology companies, or the National Institutes of Health (NIH)."The Truth About the Drug Companies by Marcia Angell
I'm in favor of anything that makes students work harder to get a measurable and meaningful reward, e.g. music & videos. Any barriers schools put up will only encourage students to learn more computer science in order to evade the barriers.
In the old days, like 20 years ago, we depended on MSM printing on dead trees to find out what the impeachment was about, and had to wade through pages of stuff to get to the meat. Today there's no excuse for anyone with net access NOT to access the impeachment resolution, and search it for what-ever is of interest.
This is an improvement that would have thrilled at least some of the Founders of our great nation.
Some people believe in stellar evolution; others believe stars are designed by intelligences. After all, how could they form such pleasing constellations and delightfully spherical shapes by mere random chance?
It's easy, natural and fun to look at this effort with cynicism, but it really does represent a great application of information sharing in the service of freedom.
Cell phones are relatively cheap, ubiquitous and easy to use. If the procedures promoted in the articles really do make if more difficult to manipulate elections, they should be exported to my own country.
Your conspiracy theory of Al Gore is as bereft of factual support as your claim that Plame's covert status is a myth.
Nor do you have factual support for the "largely shutting down western economies" canard. Green tech is a great economic opportunity; ignore it at your peril.
How do you know that Gore doesn't really believe what he says?
Occam's Razor suggests that Gore believes precisely what he says, since (a) he could make a lot more money as a spokesmodel for Big Oil and (b) the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence supports what he says. There still has been no peer-reviewed studied refuting global warming; are all those scientists in on the plot too?
The mental powers that enable you to read Gore's mind and to detect the Science Cabal could make you a fortune at Las Vegas!
In practice Plame was covert; not-with-standing your unsourced assertion, everyone in the world except her employers and her husband thought she worked for Brewster Jennings.
You repeat an unsourced denial of Cheney's involvement contrary to the clear evidence in his own handwriting; ignore that Plame was outing by Libby and others to several other reporters; misstate the prosecutor's clear statement that prosecution went no further because it was hampered by Libby's purjury; and repeat a throughly debunked story about anyone knowing she was a CIA asset.
VOICE OF GORGOS
Every time we excavate it bothers your friends
That you'd let the mammals be the cause of your end
Was it something special that we can't comprehend?
Why could you not stick around until the Age of Men?
If you came today you could have eaten whole nations
The Mesozoic era had no overpopulation
Don't you get me wrong - I only want to know.
CHOIR
Tyro Rex, Tyro Rex
Are you the best that Nature selects?
Tyro Rex, Supersaur
Why is it that you exist no more?
VOICE OF GORGOS
Tell me your opinion of the great carnivores
Who'd you think could ever rival King of the Saurs?
Sabertooth was mighty tough the stories do tell
But Tyro you were greatest and you knew that very well
Could you know of Barnum Brown who'd be first to find you?
Did you think Roy Chapman Andrews
Would today enshrine you?
Don't you get me wrong - I only want to know.
CHOIR
Tyro Rex, Tyro Rex
Are you the best that Nature selects?
Tyro Rex, Supersaur
Why is it that you exist no more?"
Slashdot Mirror
...post the link that got the guy arrested?
It seems to me that in a forum where adults discuss the case, the answer "should be" no but in a forum where children come to play, the answer "should be" yes.
There's many practical problems with making these distinctions, and no doubt repressive governments get it wrong all the time, but as a general principle what's the difference between publishing a photo and publishing a link to the photo?
Mais oui!
...a lot of very simple statutes are hard to read, simply because of the formatting, but properly formatted, are not hard at all. For example, 18 USC 1001 :
"...whoever, in any matter
...or both."
within the jurisdiction of the
executive,
legislative,
or judicial branch
of the Government of the United States,
knowingly and willfully--
falsifies,
conceals, or
covers up
by any trick, scheme, or device
a material fact...
Shall be fined under this title,
imprisoned not more than 5 years
...your publishing of voting machine code protected by trade secret may be a felony. Please report to your nearest U.S.A.G.
Actually, the problem with the article is that it doesn't characterize the data kept secret; it would be easier to discuss this matter if we knew what sort of information the historians were looking for.
Your "entirely misleading" snipe was not a valid counterpoint. If you were trying to say "there's more to it that that" well, that would be a valid counterpoint, but there is nothing misleading about what I stated.
At any rate, your economic analysis of Big Pharma is simply incorrect, as is obvious when you consider that the return on investment for the entire sector is extraordinarily high. You may find it easier to think of it like gambling; Pharma necessarily places a lot of losing bets, but the payoff on the few winners result in a higher payout than with almost any other sector of investment.
If they implemented this law in my state (Washington), I'd just stop buying any CDs (new or used) and get them all from the library system. I already preview a lot of music that way; it's free, and you can search their database of available titles to order what you want, to be delivered to the nearest library which I visit weekly anyway.
Of course, I have to send the CDs back after a month; if only there were a way to hold on to that music on my laptop ;-)
That's not really relevant to the question whether Big Pharma is especially innovative; it is scarcely a contestable issue. A huge amount of effort goes into 'me, too!' drugs of dubious utility that exist solely for the purpose of extending the effective lifetime of the effective monopoly on its production (notice the word "effective" before engaging in a legalistic argument.)
Reasonable profit margins take into account recoupment of fixed costs and risk, but Big Pharma's margins go way, way beyond that. And they are able to go beyond that because the barriers to entry into the Pharma market place are very high --->>> those very high fixed costs you spoke about distort the workings of the free market so that the governments that protect the market may have to step in to preserve it.
>Without phenomenal payoffs there would not be any incentive to do it.
False.
You started your reply by accusing me of being misleading, which is not helpful, but I will not reply in kind.
I was not a detailed analysis of Big Pharma, but merely replying briefly, so it is entirely irrelevant that the reply wasn't detailed enough to suit you.
The argument that huge cash payouts are necessary to motive huge efforts is based on an incorrect notion of humanity; plenty of risky human endeavors have been conducted without the promise of phenomenal cash payouts, simply because it is in the nature of humankind to conduct adventure (both physical and intellectual).
Precisely. It's not like Brazil is trying to enrich itself by stealing, let us saying, the source code for an operating system. It's fighting an emergency. The Big Pharma position is that it should drive Brazil to ruin in order to profit from the emergency.
>Where do you think the research for the next AIDS drug will come from?
Mostly funded by taxpayers, then handed over to Big Pharma, as usual.
"...the pharmaceutical industry is not especially innovative. As hard as it is to believe, only a handful of truly important drugs have been brought to market in recent years, and they were mostly based on taxpayer-funded research at academic institutions, small biotechnology companies, or the National Institutes of Health (NIH)."The Truth About the Drug Companies by Marcia Angell
Argh Matey - Brazil Be a-Savin' Yer Scalliwageous Lives! http://www.talklikeapirate.com/
(Seriously, why make them walk the plank just for being humanitarian?)
You get an "A" - congratulations!
I'm in favor of anything that makes students work harder to get a measurable and meaningful reward, e.g. music & videos. Any barriers schools put up will only encourage students to learn more computer science in order to evade the barriers.
...any instance of ungoodspeak to the Ministry of Love. So what's the problem?
In the old days, like 20 years ago, we depended on MSM printing on dead trees to find out what the impeachment was about, and had to wade through pages of stuff to get to the meat. Today there's no excuse for anyone with net access NOT to access the impeachment resolution, and search it for what-ever is of interest.
This is an improvement that would have thrilled at least some of the Founders of our great nation.
Some people believe in stellar evolution; others believe stars are designed by intelligences. After all, how could they form such pleasing constellations and delightfully spherical shapes by mere random chance?
Perhaps the poor fellow has been out of the news longer than he wished.
It's easy, natural and fun to look at this effort with cynicism, but it really does represent a great application of information sharing in the service of freedom.
Cell phones are relatively cheap, ubiquitous and easy to use. If the procedures promoted in the articles really do make if more difficult to manipulate elections, they should be exported to my own country.
So now Gore's crime is that he believes in the free market>
Your conspiracy theory of Al Gore is as bereft of factual support as your claim that Plame's covert status is a myth.
Nor do you have factual support for the "largely shutting down western economies" canard. Green tech is a great economic opportunity; ignore it at your peril.
How do you know that Gore doesn't really believe what he says?
Occam's Razor suggests that Gore believes precisely what he says, since (a) he could make a lot more money as a spokesmodel for Big Oil and (b) the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence supports what he says. There still has been no peer-reviewed studied refuting global warming; are all those scientists in on the plot too?
The mental powers that enable you to read Gore's mind and to detect the Science Cabal could make you a fortune at Las Vegas!
In practice Plame was covert; not-with-standing your unsourced assertion, everyone in the world except her employers and her husband thought she worked for Brewster Jennings.
You repeat an unsourced denial of Cheney's involvement contrary to the clear evidence in his own handwriting; ignore that Plame was outing by Libby and others to several other reporters; misstate the prosecutor's clear statement that prosecution went no further because it was hampered by Libby's purjury; and repeat a throughly debunked story about anyone knowing she was a CIA asset.
VOICE OF GORGOS
Every time we excavate it bothers your friends
That you'd let the mammals be the cause of your end
Was it something special that we can't comprehend?
Why could you not stick around until the Age of Men?
If you came today you could have eaten whole nations
The Mesozoic era had no overpopulation
Don't you get me wrong - I only want to know.
CHOIR
Tyro Rex, Tyro Rex
Are you the best that Nature selects?
Tyro Rex, Supersaur
Why is it that you exist no more?
VOICE OF GORGOS
Tell me your opinion of the great carnivores
Who'd you think could ever rival King of the Saurs?
Sabertooth was mighty tough the stories do tell
But Tyro you were greatest and you knew that very well
Could you know of Barnum Brown who'd be first to find you?
Did you think Roy Chapman Andrews
Would today enshrine you?
Don't you get me wrong - I only want to know.
CHOIR
Tyro Rex, Tyro Rex
Are you the best that Nature selects?
Tyro Rex, Supersaur
Why is it that you exist no more?"
FULL LIBRETTO: Tyro Rex Supersaur
BTW: are you calling Al Gore "obnoxious"???
I thought he was supposed to be "robotic" and "boring"! Obnoxious is a step up!