America has 50 years left before it becomes the kind of place where you have to pay the cops to not rape your daughters. All of you "pro-freedom" people are helping it get there.
As opposed to the current situation in Islamic nations where women are raped by roaming thugs and executed for murder when they defend themselves.
The middle east used to be the center of learning. Science, technology, and religious tolerance made the middle east great. Then the religion of hate took over and that all stopped. There is no longer advanced learning in the middle east. There is no longer great thinking and tolerance. Now you export suicide bombers and oil. If it weren't for the oil we'd have nuked your ass years ago. Be afraid. Your oil will run out eventually. Then we won't have any reason to put up with your hatred.
By ignoring the presidential elections and concentrating on your state and congressional elections. That's where your voice has the possibility of being heard, and that's where there is some chance of accountability. Your congressmen are supposed to represent YOU (though obviously that always isn't true). If you write letters you could have an impact. Do not email them. It will be ignored because it will be drowned in the millions of other emails. Letters, however, tend to get noticed.
There has yet to be a presidential candidate that I actually cared about. That may change soon. I've been wishing for a moderate candidate, left or right is fine as long as he's moderate. We may be getting that with Fred Thomson tossing his hat into the ring.
We (the people) always have a say -- at the ballot box. I believe our system would work if people gave a damn and made their vote count. The president went into Iraq with the full approval of Congress. That meant your and my representatives voted in favor of going to war. I don't accept for a second the excuses being given of "we were misinformed!" Excuse me? You say you are smart enough to be my senator, yet you say you didn't understand Bush when he clearly said he wanted to invade Iraq? You are too stupid to be in office, goodbye. Of course, I've been saying that about Boxer and Feinstein for years.:)
Oh, I disagree with out regarding the Islamo-fascists. I do think they are a world threat. They've been knocked back quite a bit in the last few years, but they aren't down for the count. They may not represent the majority, but the moderate Islamists aren't doing enough to distance themselves from them. The moderates need to denounce (and LOUDLY) the actions of the the extremists.
Yes, the Christo-fascists are dangerous, too, though I don't think they are as close to power as you believe. Plus, in this country we do denounce the extremists.
but it is not run by people as bad as Saddam. Come on, that's just a little over the top, don't you think?
No, I don't think that's over the top. Look at all the countries in the world. Most of them are members of the UN. Enough countries are run by tyrants who's only interest is maintaining the status quo that it has hamstrung any hope of the UN being useful.
There are many reasons we went to war with Iraq. Saddam's attempted hit on Bush Sr. A son shadowed by a greater father seeking to prove himself to daddy. The need for a new enemy to justify our rabid military spending. The need for an enemy to justify removing civil liberties at home. Control of oil. A base in the middle east. China. Money, money and more money.
You left out the possibility that a lot of people went to war in Iraq for good reasons, Removing a tyrant and bringing democracy to the middle east. I personally believe that democracy has the best chance of providing universal justice. It's quite possible for a dictator to be just and good, just highly unlikely.
I want justice for the entire world, too. Hey, I'll make you a deal. I'll try to keep an open mind and entertain the idea that even people who have very different ideas about how to go about achieving that aren't necessarily complete morons or self serving and deluded assholes, if you do the same, what do you say? I'm getting too old for flame wars that only keep people like you and I from cooperating to come up with better solutions.
Agreed. Of course, I'll never believe that implementing religious law throughout the world, with the first order of business being the destruction of Israel, as being a reasonable means of achieving world justice (not that I'm accusing you of this stance).
First off, I'm not exactly a Bush fan. For his domestic policy, I think he's an asshole. A dangerous asshole. However, I believe taking out that evil bastard Saddam was in the best interest of the entire world. I also believe abandoning Iraq at this point would be a horrible thing to do to the people of Iraq. Now that that is out of the way...
The oil infrastructure of Iraq was in very bad shape even before we invaded. It was in dire need of a major overhaul. Do you believe we invaded just so we could give Haliburton a juicy contract? I rather doubt it. However, since the U.S. is paying for the bulk of the costs involved with Iraq, what's wrong with giving an American company preferential treatment when it comes time to handing out contracts? This helps our economy and defrays (albeit in a small way) the economic costs of the war.
It would have been better if the UN had done their job and dealt with Saddam. Unfortunately, the UN is run by people often as bad as Saddam who were getting bribed to look the other way. Expecting the UN to do anything useful is insane. Just look at Dufar. A clearer case of genocide could not be found, yet all the UN does is say, "Stop! Or we'll say 'stop' again."
It sucks that the U.S. has become the world police. We shouldn't be doing this, but my sense of ethics requires me to want justice for the entire world. I believe everyone in the world should have the same rights as I do because, while our system is flawed, it's a damn sight better than any other system in the world. No one should be afraid to speak their mind. No government should be able to murder and torture innocent people just because they can. And sitting back and allowing it to happen all over the world is simply not acceptable.
The lines are typically owned by the local government. Giving it away wouldn't be in our (the people's) best interest. I supposed we could allow unlimited expansion of the lines by any company willing to make the investment, but there's no chance in hell that cities would allow unlimited running of cable and phone lines. Since the "last mile" is always going to be extremely limited, it should be handled by the local government (ugh) or contracted out to a private firm who pays the city a yearly lease. This last-mile company can then sell access to whomever they want, though they should probably have caps how how much they can charge (but give them a decent profit!). This opens up cable service to multiple companies who must then compete on price, quality of service and selection - unlike my current select which is Comcast and... uhm. There is no other choice. I rather dislike the options I have with Comcast. I just want the SciFi channel. To get it, I have to get an overpriced premium service that includes about 30 odd ESPN channels that I will NEVER watch. Oh, and the dozen MTV channels, none of which actually plays music videos as far as I can tell.
The phone lines are kind of run this way for the moment. I get my dsl through a third party because they have excellent service and support and their EULA is reasonable (I can run a server). They cost slightly more, but it's worth it. AT&T doesn't like to have to compete, so of course they are doing whatever they can to get out of having to lease access to other companies. They can't compete on quality. They aren't allowed to price everyone out of business (e.g. charging $100/month per leased dsl line). So time to buy a few politicians.
Chomsky's use of logic is non-existent. He's a hold-over from the intellectually bankrupt postmodernism class, wherein the tiniest connection is used as proof. For example (I'll purposely invioke Godwin just the end this stupidity), "Hitler liked ice cream. Bush likes ice cream. Therefore, Bush is just like Hitler." Sure, he can wrap it all up in a serious sounding multi-page essay using big words, but when you distill it down to it's bare essence, you find you are holding nothing but small dab of foul smelling shit.
He's popular because people who don't wish to actually think for themselves can pretend they are being smart by reading his rants and going along with his delusions. His dribble is so predictable and redundant that multiple versions of "Chomsky Generation" scripts have been written - and they are indistinguishable from his actual writings.
are rejoicing because this could result in starvation for many, which fits into the ultimate goal of the rabid greens: the extinction of the human race.
Bullshit! Beating your kids is most definitely not mainstream. Even light spankings are heavily frowned upon. Either you aren't an American, which means you don't have a fucking clue, or you grew up in one seriously fucked up home.
The first time my stepdaughter went over her allocated number of messages in a month I gave her a warning that she would lose that privilege if she did it again. The next month she went over the limit by a massive amount. I immediately had her text messaging option canceled. Problem solved.
I came home to discover the three pounds I ordered had arrived. Nothing like getting a heavy package shipped directly from Jamaica to gain unwanted attention. LOL
I recently discovered Jablum Jamaican Blue Mountain espresso roast. It's so rich and smooth and NOT bitter I don't think I'll ever be able to drink a straight espresso made from anything else.
No, just the opposite. He's perfect for true justice. The solicitors will have to spend an hour or so having someone explain the basic concepts of the internet. From there the judge can listen to the facts of the case without any clouding of his judgment from any preconceived notions.
"This is a web page. There are about a billion of them in existence, and about a billion people viewing the web pages. Anyone can pay to have access to the internet. Anyone can get free or very cheap space to put up their own web pages. We are accusing these men of doing just that to incite hatred... blah blah blah."
(Don't bother correcting my estimates of web sites and users. I know it's wrong)
I have a super automatic espresso maker (Jura-Capresso Impressa E8) and load it with Blue Mountain espresso roast beans. I get a perfect 2oz shot of espresso in 30 seconds. It's smooth and rich, and not at all bitter as you would expect from that large Seattle based coffee chain.
For regular coffee I have a Keurig single cup coffee maker. It uses "k-cups", which are a huge convenience. I still have a regular automatic drip coffee maker that I keep around in case I have company that might want regular coffee.
The Feds first obtained the power for asset seizures because they were going after some really evil drug lords. The American people went along with this because it was true, the Feds were definitely going after some really evil (as in kill the entire family as an example) bastards.
Then the Feds asked for more power, because they needed to get the supply chain, and grabbing a few Ferraris and yachts of really rich cocaine suppliers would help. The American people went along with this, too.
Then the Feds just assumed they had the power to grab the assets of the dealers. The American people didn't really think anything of this. After all, these drug dealers were bad people and besides, they were shooting up parts of the city in turf wars, so let the Feds grab the drug dealer BMWs with the really ugly custom wheels.
Then the Feds began seizing the assets of the drug users. Most Americans were under the impression the drug users were strung out heroine and crack junkies, so didn't give a shit. Only now Mr and Mrs Average American are learning otherwise, because their teenage son got pulled over in mom's car, and he had a joint on him, and the police are keeping the car.
I predicted this would happen at the very first stage. I was right. Even if the Feds swear up and down on a stack of bibles that they're only going to use this power on the big time commercial piracy operations, I won't believe them. Maybe today they mean it, but what about next tomorrow?
Fuck the government. They will ALWAYS abuse even the smallest amount of power. That's why we have to have the tightest possible controls on them as possible. If making it hard for them to abuse their job has the side affect of making it hard for them to do their job, so what. My rights and freedom are THAT FUCKING IMPORTANT.
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As opposed to the current situation in Islamic nations where women are raped by roaming thugs and executed for murder when they defend themselves.
The middle east used to be the center of learning. Science, technology, and religious tolerance made the middle east great. Then the religion of hate took over and that all stopped. There is no longer advanced learning in the middle east. There is no longer great thinking and tolerance. Now you export suicide bombers and oil. If it weren't for the oil we'd have nuked your ass years ago. Be afraid. Your oil will run out eventually. Then we won't have any reason to put up with your hatred.
By ignoring the presidential elections and concentrating on your state and congressional elections. That's where your voice has the possibility of being heard, and that's where there is some chance of accountability. Your congressmen are supposed to represent YOU (though obviously that always isn't true). If you write letters you could have an impact. Do not email them. It will be ignored because it will be drowned in the millions of other emails. Letters, however, tend to get noticed.
There has yet to be a presidential candidate that I actually cared about. That may change soon. I've been wishing for a moderate candidate, left or right is fine as long as he's moderate. We may be getting that with Fred Thomson tossing his hat into the ring.
We (the people) always have a say -- at the ballot box. I believe our system would work if people gave a damn and made their vote count. The president went into Iraq with the full approval of Congress. That meant your and my representatives voted in favor of going to war. I don't accept for a second the excuses being given of "we were misinformed!" Excuse me? You say you are smart enough to be my senator, yet you say you didn't understand Bush when he clearly said he wanted to invade Iraq? You are too stupid to be in office, goodbye. Of course, I've been saying that about Boxer and Feinstein for years. :)
Oh, I disagree with out regarding the Islamo-fascists. I do think they are a world threat. They've been knocked back quite a bit in the last few years, but they aren't down for the count. They may not represent the majority, but the moderate Islamists aren't doing enough to distance themselves from them. The moderates need to denounce (and LOUDLY) the actions of the the extremists.
Yes, the Christo-fascists are dangerous, too, though I don't think they are as close to power as you believe. Plus, in this country we do denounce the extremists.
First off, I'm not exactly a Bush fan. For his domestic policy, I think he's an asshole. A dangerous asshole. However, I believe taking out that evil bastard Saddam was in the best interest of the entire world. I also believe abandoning Iraq at this point would be a horrible thing to do to the people of Iraq. Now that that is out of the way ...
The oil infrastructure of Iraq was in very bad shape even before we invaded. It was in dire need of a major overhaul. Do you believe we invaded just so we could give Haliburton a juicy contract? I rather doubt it. However, since the U.S. is paying for the bulk of the costs involved with Iraq, what's wrong with giving an American company preferential treatment when it comes time to handing out contracts? This helps our economy and defrays (albeit in a small way) the economic costs of the war.
It would have been better if the UN had done their job and dealt with Saddam. Unfortunately, the UN is run by people often as bad as Saddam who were getting bribed to look the other way. Expecting the UN to do anything useful is insane. Just look at Dufar. A clearer case of genocide could not be found, yet all the UN does is say, "Stop! Or we'll say 'stop' again."
It sucks that the U.S. has become the world police. We shouldn't be doing this, but my sense of ethics requires me to want justice for the entire world. I believe everyone in the world should have the same rights as I do because, while our system is flawed, it's a damn sight better than any other system in the world. No one should be afraid to speak their mind. No government should be able to murder and torture innocent people just because they can. And sitting back and allowing it to happen all over the world is simply not acceptable.
Yep, the world is ugly and brutal sometimes.
The lines are typically owned by the local government. Giving it away wouldn't be in our (the people's) best interest. I supposed we could allow unlimited expansion of the lines by any company willing to make the investment, but there's no chance in hell that cities would allow unlimited running of cable and phone lines. Since the "last mile" is always going to be extremely limited, it should be handled by the local government (ugh) or contracted out to a private firm who pays the city a yearly lease. This last-mile company can then sell access to whomever they want, though they should probably have caps how how much they can charge (but give them a decent profit!). This opens up cable service to multiple companies who must then compete on price, quality of service and selection - unlike my current select which is Comcast and ... uhm. There is no other choice. I rather dislike the options I have with Comcast. I just want the SciFi channel. To get it, I have to get an overpriced premium service that includes about 30 odd ESPN channels that I will NEVER watch. Oh, and the dozen MTV channels, none of which actually plays music videos as far as I can tell.
The phone lines are kind of run this way for the moment. I get my dsl through a third party because they have excellent service and support and their EULA is reasonable (I can run a server). They cost slightly more, but it's worth it. AT&T doesn't like to have to compete, so of course they are doing whatever they can to get out of having to lease access to other companies. They can't compete on quality. They aren't allowed to price everyone out of business (e.g. charging $100/month per leased dsl line). So time to buy a few politicians.
Since we haven't taken a single drop of oil from Iraq, I'd say your entire premise is nothing but a load of bullshit.
I'm a Linux system administrator and I would agree. I'm really not a good choice to evaluate "average joe" usability.
'nuff said
I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those pesky kids and their stupid dog!
Brilliant? What have you been smoking?
Chomsky's use of logic is non-existent. He's a hold-over from the intellectually bankrupt postmodernism class, wherein the tiniest connection is used as proof. For example (I'll purposely invioke Godwin just the end this stupidity), "Hitler liked ice cream. Bush likes ice cream. Therefore, Bush is just like Hitler." Sure, he can wrap it all up in a serious sounding multi-page essay using big words, but when you distill it down to it's bare essence, you find you are holding nothing but small dab of foul smelling shit.
He's popular because people who don't wish to actually think for themselves can pretend they are being smart by reading his rants and going along with his delusions. His dribble is so predictable and redundant that multiple versions of "Chomsky Generation" scripts have been written - and they are indistinguishable from his actual writings.
Why would anyone want to read anything by Noam Chomsky? He's a complete nutjob with no relevance to actual reality.
It's the top 25 of "Stories that give conspiracy theory aficionados a giant woodie"
are rejoicing because this could result in starvation for many, which fits into the ultimate goal of the rabid greens: the extinction of the human race.
>
Bullshit! Beating your kids is most definitely not mainstream. Even light spankings are heavily frowned upon. Either you aren't an American, which means you don't have a fucking clue, or you grew up in one seriously fucked up home.
The first time my stepdaughter went over her allocated number of messages in a month I gave her a warning that she would lose that privilege if she did it again. The next month she went over the limit by a massive amount. I immediately had her text messaging option canceled. Problem solved.
I came home to discover the three pounds I ordered had arrived. Nothing like getting a heavy package shipped directly from Jamaica to gain unwanted attention. LOL
I recently discovered Jablum Jamaican Blue Mountain espresso roast. It's so rich and smooth and NOT bitter I don't think I'll ever be able to drink a straight espresso made from anything else.
With the exception of the Popup Blocker, I agree. Everything else should be in a plugin.
I corrected your formula:
ProfitA = $MEDIA_INCOME - piracy loss - DRM R&D - DRM content - lawsuits - alienated customers - recalls (i.e. rootkit)
ProfitB = $MEDIA_INCOME - piracy loss
No, just the opposite. He's perfect for true justice. The solicitors will have to spend an hour or so having someone explain the basic concepts of the internet. From there the judge can listen to the facts of the case without any clouding of his judgment from any preconceived notions.
... blah blah blah."
"This is a web page. There are about a billion of them in existence, and about a billion people viewing the web pages. Anyone can pay to have access to the internet. Anyone can get free or very cheap space to put up their own web pages. We are accusing these men of doing just that to incite hatred
(Don't bother correcting my estimates of web sites and users. I know it's wrong)
I haven't quite reached the roast-your-own stage level of insanity. Give me a few more months.
I have a super automatic espresso maker (Jura-Capresso Impressa E8) and load it with Blue Mountain espresso roast beans. I get a perfect 2oz shot of espresso in 30 seconds. It's smooth and rich, and not at all bitter as you would expect from that large Seattle based coffee chain.
For regular coffee I have a Keurig single cup coffee maker. It uses "k-cups", which are a huge convenience. I still have a regular automatic drip coffee maker that I keep around in case I have company that might want regular coffee.
I had hoped Linus would have said this, but I guess it's up to me:
Hey Microsoft! BRING IT ON, BITCH!
The Feds first obtained the power for asset seizures because they were going after some really evil drug lords. The American people went along with this because it was true, the Feds were definitely going after some really evil (as in kill the entire family as an example) bastards.
Then the Feds asked for more power, because they needed to get the supply chain, and grabbing a few Ferraris and yachts of really rich cocaine suppliers would help. The American people went along with this, too.
Then the Feds just assumed they had the power to grab the assets of the dealers. The American people didn't really think anything of this. After all, these drug dealers were bad people and besides, they were shooting up parts of the city in turf wars, so let the Feds grab the drug dealer BMWs with the really ugly custom wheels.
Then the Feds began seizing the assets of the drug users. Most Americans were under the impression the drug users were strung out heroine and crack junkies, so didn't give a shit. Only now Mr and Mrs Average American are learning otherwise, because their teenage son got pulled over in mom's car, and he had a joint on him, and the police are keeping the car.
I predicted this would happen at the very first stage. I was right. Even if the Feds swear up and down on a stack of bibles that they're only going to use this power on the big time commercial piracy operations, I won't believe them. Maybe today they mean it, but what about next tomorrow?
Fuck the government. They will ALWAYS abuse even the smallest amount of power. That's why we have to have the tightest possible controls on them as possible. If making it hard for them to abuse their job has the side affect of making it hard for them to do their job, so what. My rights and freedom are THAT FUCKING IMPORTANT.