Then you'll have 700 people running for every office just to milk the funds provided.
Instead of offering to fund the campaign, do this instead:
1. Public airwaves should be free for campaigning. Every candidate gets a 60-second spot every night during prime time. 2. Cap the spending for campaigns at something like $100,000 for State and $1,000,000 for Federal.
The reason States keep electing jackasses like Hatch and Stevens is simple: Power.
If your state has a powerful incumbent, it is in your best interest to keep him/her. Sure, you get fucked over and party-line voting, but that would happen no matter what. Dems and Repubs will *always* vote the party line on things like DMCA, USAPATRIOT, Mickey Mouse Copyright, etc. Just because you hire somebody new does not mean he'll abandon the line.
Powerful incumbents are good for your state. They have a name and can work the game in DC to get things done. Hatch and Stevens (and Kennedy and Clinton) may seem like jackasses to the other 49 States. But they bring home a lot of pork. And that means money and jobs for their State.
One way or another, your Senator *will* fuck you over. Even if the new guy promises blowjobs, hookers, and beer for everyone, does not mean he can deliver. DC will corrupt him within a few months. If they can't corrupt him, then they will turn powerful lobbyists (AARP, NRA, **AA, etc) against him; He'll soon be jobless or embroiled in a scandal.
Stop thinking you can actually change anything under the current system; you can't. How can you really push for change?
1. Term limits for House and Senate. 2. Force reps to disclose *everything* they do on a daily basis under the penalty of perjury if they lie. Meeting attendees and minutes should be published within 24 hours of a meeting on a web site available to all registered voters. 3. Force people to vote. Make voting days a Federal holiday and force employers to pay employees for that day. Count it as the cost of doing business in the USA. 4. Force campaign promises to be carried out. If a politician promises to repeal/enact $LAW, hold him to it as an impeachable offense.
Demos are complete crap now. I won't buy any game until I have had a chance to download, install, and play the full version. If the game gives me more than 15 minutes of enjoyment, then I'll usually buy the full game. 90% of the time, it remains in the box.
I encourage everyone else to do the same.
Today, the only demos I d/l and try are those of the indie game companies.
You should check out AutoPatcherXP. It is a single executable with all of the critical and recommended updates. It also additional programs and tweaks (user selectable) to get WinXP all pretty and secure(ish).
>>We have a generator at my work and it has to power EVERYTHING.
No, it does not.
First off, make sure the A/C is powered. Very important.
Next, make sure all the networking gear is powered.
Next, make sure all the mission critical PCs are powered. A lot of your users will not be mission critical. HR can postpone interviews until the power is back on.
Finally, make sure at least 1 in 4 lights are powered.
Because, the Middle Class demand low prices on everything.
We pay fast-food workers $5/hour because we want a super value meal for $6. If the employer was to pay the worker a living wage, then we'd have to pay $7 for our super value meal. There would be riots in the streets over that extra $1.
Plus, most fast food workers are kids who really don't need a living wage.
I thought about moving to Italy once. Actually, I lived there for several years while working for an American company. When I looked at my Italian counterparts, I thought about having a go at it.
Then I found out they pay almost 50% income tax. On top of that, there is a 20% VAT on most items. On top of that, gasoline was almost $5 per gallon (a few years ago...almost certainly more now).
The high taxes were there to support their social services. Free medical. Free dental. Good unemployment and retirement. Almost no chance of getting fired. 6-hour work days and 30-days of vacation. Virtually no concept of sexual harassment or workplace misconduct.
Then you realize that the social services suck. Want a painkiller for your broken leg? Tough. Want an annual dental checkup? Tough. Want a cop to investigate repeated break-ins? Tough.
Europe is great if you are young or unemployed. Europe sucks if you actually want to make something of yourself through hard work.
Personally, I couldn't live if I worked 6 days a week knowing I'd only get 3-days pay after taxes just so some 22-yo punk could sit in the park all day and smoke pot.
>>Does smoking pot in your own home really put other people in danger
It isn't about danger. It's about economics. When you smoke dope, you may (or may not) be contributing to your own demise. Cancer, emphazema, heart disease, etc... At some point, you will have to fall back on the State to support you. At that point, you begin costing the State money. The question is do you die before you cost more than you produced?
The funny thing about it is this: Smokers who die before they are 50 actually save the State money.
It's the ones who drag on with lung and heart disease until they are 90 that suck it all up.
Things people like to do for fun should be classified according to how dangerous they are. If they are above a specific margin, then that person should have to sign away any rights to recieve support from the State should their bodies become damaged.
My dad pulverized his leg when he was 35 in a motorcycle accident. Should the State (medicare/medicaid/social security) continue to reimburse him for medication and doctor visits?
You are right. There should be discussion about these things in Government. But it seems they are too concerned with blowjobs and little boys and big oil to do anything about problems affecting real people.
Actually, the employer and employee are both stealing.
The employer is paying below a living wage. This means the employee is forced to utilize social services in order to survive.
The employee is taking a job at less than the living wage. They are, in effect, devaluing the labor market. By providing low-cost labor, they drive the cost of the goods and services down. This means less tax revinew for the State.
You are right. However, if you do something to harm yourself, then at some point, the State has to care for you.
Are you on welfare because of your cocaine habit? Then you are stealing.
Are you in the hospital because you had an opium overdose? Then you are stealing.
Did you get into a car accident because you were reaching for some fries? Then you are stealing.
Did you go to prison because you shot someone in a drug-deal-gone-bad? Then you are stealing?
There are many social and private services supporting our way of life. We have to work to pay for those services. When I work and pay tax to support your final months of lung cancer, then you have taken something from me.
I would only support legal drug use on the condition that the user signs away any and all rights to be supported by the State.
If you watched the series, and all you got out of it was "racism", then you need to pay better attention. There were serious problems with addiction. It destroyed lives back then too. The thought of moms giving morphine to babies to make them sleep through the night is horrible.
The fact is that drugs *can* make a citizen less productive. Less productive citizens produce fewer goods. Fewer goods means less tax. Less tax means the State suffers.
When you do anything that harms yourself, you are, in effect, stealing from the State.
Of course, the same could be said of Seatbelt laws and fatty fast foods.
When you see a teenager smoking some dope or an overweight soccer mom downing a bag of donuts, it's all the same. The State (meaning you, me, and everyone else) suffers.
You shouldn't be asking "why is dope illegal". You should be asking "why isn't 60 minutes of cardio 4 times per week mandatory".
Law enforcement acknowledges a thing called the 21-foot-rule. It basicly says that if I have a handgun and I perceive you as a danger, I'm allowed to start shooting at 20-feet away.
The rule is based on the fact that an attacker can close 20 feet before the human brain can regognize an attack and respond by firing the weapon.
Long story short: If you have a knife (or just take an agressive martial arts stance), don't get within 20 feet of a guy with a gun; he has the right to shoot.
Re:Definitely has uses but..
on
Oracle Linux?
·
· Score: 1
they'll save their customers and themselves some support cost
they'll save themselves some support costs and increase their profit margins
There was a mistake in your post. I fixed it for you.
The distributors of KP don't just file it under a Kiddy Porn folder. They also don't use terms like 14yo_cute_naked. There is a whole subculture of people trading this stuff. A lot of it is passed over IRC and other chat systems with file sharing capabilities. Some of the smarter people use something like Freenet to establish sites.
The vast majority of the real stuff is not on pay sites. You won't be spammed about it. It's dads sharing pics of their 8yo daughters with other dads.
You are AC, so I have no idea if you'll see this response.
>>1. Reduce dependence on foreign oil by moving to a smaller city, driving a more fuel-efficient car, walking/bicycling more, and supporting research for natural fuels such as energy cane. See Brazil.
Oil has little or no impact on the desires of Islam. As a group, Muslims want to see everyone in the world become Muslim. They are no different from Christians in this respect. However, Muslim law is much more strict than Christian law. Look at the first few hundred years of Islam. None of the people they conquored depended on oil.
>>2. Reduce the presence of American soldiers in the Middle East. Close bases, de-fund the many "superweapons" that don't actually work and use that money for #1.
This is a pretty good idea. However, for a true retreat from the ME, we must abandon Isreal. Are you willing to pull up tent stakes and watch as Isreal is overrun by Muslims? Isreal will respond by nuking anything that moves within 100 miles of their border. A retreat from the ME will mean nuclear war and millions of deaths.
>>3. Begin cracking down on non-Muslim terrorism at home and abroad, including Christians who shoot doctors, nutjobs who bomb federal buildings and mail anthrax, and Buddhists and Hindus bombing each other.
Anyone in the US who commits murder or a hate crime will be punished. However, with that pesky Constitution thingy, there is only so much law enforcement can do.
>>4. Admit Turkey into the EU with the stipulation that it must respect Western-style human rights including the rights to free speech, peacable assembly, and unusual clothing.
What right do we have to tell another country what they can and can't do with their own citizens? Turkey shouldbe allowed to do whatever it wants until it gets bad enough that we are justified in invading it and overthrowing the ruler. Only then do we have the right to say what the Turks can and can't wear.
>>5. Recognize Kurdistan as a separate nation and open trade negotiations.
As soon as you create Kurdistan, Turkey will invade and you'll have ethnic cleansing. Kurds can't defend themselves. SHould we station US troops there? Should we give them weapons?
No matter what you and your buddies at the bar think, thousands of *very* smart people have tried to come up with a way to solve the Middle East problem. Short of killing every Muslim there, there really isn't anything that can be done. And unfortunately, the West does not have the stomach to declare Jihad and start killing Muslims. However, if the shoe was on the other foot, Muslims would kill us in a heartbeat. When an invader lacks the resolve to commit to an action at the same level as the opponent, then the invader will lose.
I've thought about that too. About 3000 people died on 9-11-2001 in the Towers. Probably several thousand more died from the things you listed above. However, here is a big difference:
# Heart disease Prople can stop eating fatty food and reduce their risk.
# Cancer A bit tricky, but not smoking and getting a bit of exercise every now and again would definately help.
# Drunk drivers This is really dumb. The classic drunk driver horror story is that little Suzie was killed as she waited for a bus to take her to church or school or some such nonsense. However, the vast majority of drunk drivers do it at like 4am when the bar closes. The only people they endanger is themselves and the other people out at 4am.
# Not drunk drivers More driver education would go a long way to helping out here. In Europe, most people have to take a year's worth of classes and pay several thoudand dollars to get a license.
# homicide Not much can be done here. Let the pot heads out of jail and start telling people they *will* spend the rest of their lives in jail for *any* homicide.
# AIDs Stop fucking! Stop using drugs! AIDS is like social darwinism. It's a death tax on the stupid. I don't think it's a plauge on fags and druggies, but seriously, strap on a fucking condom and AIDS would be gone in a few years.
# Firearms Nothing wrong with firearms. People misusing firearms is a social problem that *could* be solved. However, to say that guns are bad because a small minority of users are criminals is just wrong. If you take my guns because crack heads like to shoot each other, then you might as well take your computer because some perv looks at little girls on the internet.
# ladders Read the instructions and follow them.
# Drowning Don't get drunka and swim. Watch your kids and make sure someone is watching you.
And...
# Terrorism Convert to Islam and become subservient. Other than that, there is nothing you can do to appease these people.
In short, 3000 people died from nothing that had anything to do with them. If they'd spent another 30 minutes on the treadmill, they'd still be dead. If they wore a condom, they'd still be dead. If they'd never had a drink in their life, they'd still be dead. Absolutely nothing they could have done.
You are thinking of it in terms of watching a TV. That's not the problem. Like you say, most people have nothing to say.
However, the real problem is that someone will set up a laptop to sniff an open wireless network and then grep the output for credit-card numbers and MMO passwords. Once they nail a CC#, they can examine the surrounding packets to find expiration dates, names and addresses, and that stupid "security code". MMO passwords can be used to empty a user's inventory for real money.
How many people shop from Starbucks? I dunno. I bet quite a few do. How many play WoW at Starbucks? Probably some.
And make sure to tell them something realy important was on there. Like the names and addresses of the people who attended last year's Police Ball.
Or maybe Baltimore police don't have balls?
In all seriousness, file a "John Doe" civil suit in the ISPs district. As part of the action, ask for discovery on a specific IP address. Since you are filing against John Doe, Verizon will most likely consent. Once you have the name and address of the theif, drop the John Doe case and go back to the police with the guy's name, address, phone number, photos of his house and dog. At this point, either the police press charges, or you lodge an official complaint against the cops.
Look at the following article about how the RIAA uses IP addresses to find people. You should be using similar tactics. Do some sleuthing once you have the address. Make sure you aren't going after some poor bastard with an open WAP while the real theif lives right next door.
Going to the press is a bad idea. The theif is very likely to see the story and will move to dispose of the property.
The US government makes a lot off of taxing copyrighted material. It is in the government's best intrest t0o make sure that people who do not obey an author's copyright are held accountable.
Besides, it's not your tax dollars, or mine, paying for this. It'll be the taxes of our sons and daughters, and likely their sons and daughters, that will pay for this ill conceived and poorly executed attempt at redefining a regions political and cultural landscape.
If everything works out right, then our sons and daughters can leach off of the sons and daughters of Iraq. 50 years ago, many wanted to leave Germany and Japan in shambles. Today, would you say we are better or wose off for helping rebuild DE and JP?
If we can do Iraq right, we will have cheap access to oil. We will have millions more customers for Nike, McDonalds, and WalMart. We will have, in 50 years or so, absorbed a large portion of Middle Eastern culture. Our sons and daughters will debate over eating Italian, German, Japanese, or Iraqi food at the mall.
Or, we could just up and leave. Pull out the tentstakes and just hope for the best. How long would it be before the warlords stepped in and turned Iraq into something much worse than we had before?
I don't think that possesion of unlicensed music is a crime. Copyright violation *is* a crime. So, if you have a burned CD of Tool, no one will haul you into court. If, however, you are distributing burned CDs of Tool, you'll preobably be facing a pretty hefty fine.
On a similar note, you can download all the music you want. If you could somehow modify the bittorrent client to not upload a single bit, you could use isohunt and mininova to max out your collection legally. No one would harass you.
But, the first bit of copyrighted music you upload makes you a copyright violator. You did not have permission to upload that 1 or that 0.
If they really wanted to make mass-transit a PITA, they would get a steel plate, c-4, and a shit-ton of ball bearings. Place steel plate in backpack. Pack c-4 on steel plate towards the back of the backpack. Imbed BBs into c-4.
The terrorist walks, unimpeded right up to the metal detectors in an airport. As he stands right at the head of the 50+ sq meter security gaggle, he detonates his backpack. The steel plate would act as a reflector to ensure maximum rear-facing damage. The BBs would ensure a good ammount of long-distance frags.
There were what, 20 guys involved in the new London thing? Imagine if they hit one security line in every major US airport.
What would the next response be? No more security lines? More checkpoints and, therefore, more security lines?
This could also be done simultaneously in airports, sporting events, movie theaters, plays, really anywhere you have 100+ people in a line or in a gaggle of some sort.
Slashdot Mirror
Then you'll have 700 people running for every office just to milk the funds provided.
Instead of offering to fund the campaign, do this instead:
1. Public airwaves should be free for campaigning. Every candidate gets a 60-second spot every night during prime time.
2. Cap the spending for campaigns at something like $100,000 for State and $1,000,000 for Federal.
The reason States keep electing jackasses like Hatch and Stevens is simple: Power.
If your state has a powerful incumbent, it is in your best interest to keep him/her. Sure, you get fucked over and party-line voting, but that would happen no matter what. Dems and Repubs will *always* vote the party line on things like DMCA, USAPATRIOT, Mickey Mouse Copyright, etc. Just because you hire somebody new does not mean he'll abandon the line.
Powerful incumbents are good for your state. They have a name and can work the game in DC to get things done. Hatch and Stevens (and Kennedy and Clinton) may seem like jackasses to the other 49 States. But they bring home a lot of pork. And that means money and jobs for their State.
One way or another, your Senator *will* fuck you over. Even if the new guy promises blowjobs, hookers, and beer for everyone, does not mean he can deliver. DC will corrupt him within a few months. If they can't corrupt him, then they will turn powerful lobbyists (AARP, NRA, **AA, etc) against him; He'll soon be jobless or embroiled in a scandal.
Stop thinking you can actually change anything under the current system; you can't. How can you really push for change?
1. Term limits for House and Senate.
2. Force reps to disclose *everything* they do on a daily basis under the penalty of perjury if they lie. Meeting attendees and minutes should be published within 24 hours of a meeting on a web site available to all registered voters.
3. Force people to vote. Make voting days a Federal holiday and force employers to pay employees for that day. Count it as the cost of doing business in the USA.
4. Force campaign promises to be carried out. If a politician promises to repeal/enact $LAW, hold him to it as an impeachable offense.
Demos are complete crap now. I won't buy any game until I have had a chance to download, install, and play the full version. If the game gives me more than 15 minutes of enjoyment, then I'll usually buy the full game. 90% of the time, it remains in the box.
I encourage everyone else to do the same.
Today, the only demos I d/l and try are those of the indie game companies.
You should check out AutoPatcherXP. It is a single executable with all of the critical and recommended updates. It also additional programs and tweaks (user selectable) to get WinXP all pretty and secure(ish).
Google for it and you won't be sorry.
>>We have a generator at my work and it has to power EVERYTHING.
No, it does not.
First off, make sure the A/C is powered. Very important.
Next, make sure all the networking gear is powered.
Next, make sure all the mission critical PCs are powered. A lot of your users will not be mission critical. HR can postpone interviews until the power is back on.
Finally, make sure at least 1 in 4 lights are powered.
Because, the Middle Class demand low prices on everything.
We pay fast-food workers $5/hour because we want a super value meal for $6. If the employer was to pay the worker a living wage, then we'd have to pay $7 for our super value meal. There would be riots in the streets over that extra $1.
Plus, most fast food workers are kids who really don't need a living wage.
I thought about moving to Italy once. Actually, I lived there for several years while working for an American company. When I looked at my Italian counterparts, I thought about having a go at it.
Then I found out they pay almost 50% income tax. On top of that, there is a 20% VAT on most items. On top of that, gasoline was almost $5 per gallon (a few years ago...almost certainly more now).
The high taxes were there to support their social services. Free medical. Free dental. Good unemployment and retirement. Almost no chance of getting fired. 6-hour work days and 30-days of vacation. Virtually no concept of sexual harassment or workplace misconduct.
Then you realize that the social services suck. Want a painkiller for your broken leg? Tough. Want an annual dental checkup? Tough. Want a cop to investigate repeated break-ins? Tough.
Europe is great if you are young or unemployed. Europe sucks if you actually want to make something of yourself through hard work.
Personally, I couldn't live if I worked 6 days a week knowing I'd only get 3-days pay after taxes just so some 22-yo punk could sit in the park all day and smoke pot.
>>Does smoking pot in your own home really put other people in danger
It isn't about danger. It's about economics. When you smoke dope, you may (or may not) be contributing to your own demise. Cancer, emphazema, heart disease, etc... At some point, you will have to fall back on the State to support you. At that point, you begin costing the State money. The question is do you die before you cost more than you produced?
The funny thing about it is this: Smokers who die before they are 50 actually save the State money.
It's the ones who drag on with lung and heart disease until they are 90 that suck it all up.
Things people like to do for fun should be classified according to how dangerous they are. If they are above a specific margin, then that person should have to sign away any rights to recieve support from the State should their bodies become damaged.
My dad pulverized his leg when he was 35 in a motorcycle accident. Should the State (medicare/medicaid/social security) continue to reimburse him for medication and doctor visits?
You are right. There should be discussion about these things in Government. But it seems they are too concerned with blowjobs and little boys and big oil to do anything about problems affecting real people.
>>If I can manage to live without earning any taxable income, I am free to do so.
You are right. However, if you do not contribute to the tax pool, you shouldn't be allowed to utilize the services provided by the tax.
If you don't pay the gasoline tax, you shouldn't be allowed to use the roads.
If you don't utilize the service, then you shouldn't be taxed for it.
If you have no school-age children, then your property taxes should not go to fund the school board.
Actually, the employer and employee are both stealing.
The employer is paying below a living wage. This means the employee is forced to utilize social services in order to survive.
The employee is taking a job at less than the living wage. They are, in effect, devaluing the labor market. By providing low-cost labor, they drive the cost of the goods and services down. This means less tax revinew for the State.
>>..not accruing tax isn't theft.
You are right. However, if you do something to harm yourself, then at some point, the State has to care for you.
Are you on welfare because of your cocaine habit? Then you are stealing.
Are you in the hospital because you had an opium overdose? Then you are stealing.
Did you get into a car accident because you were reaching for some fries? Then you are stealing.
Did you go to prison because you shot someone in a drug-deal-gone-bad? Then you are stealing?
There are many social and private services supporting our way of life. We have to work to pay for those services. When I work and pay tax to support your final months of lung cancer, then you have taken something from me.
I would only support legal drug use on the condition that the user signs away any and all rights to be supported by the State.
If you watched the series, and all you got out of it was "racism", then you need to pay better attention. There were serious problems with addiction. It destroyed lives back then too. The thought of moms giving morphine to babies to make them sleep through the night is horrible.
The fact is that drugs *can* make a citizen less productive. Less productive citizens produce fewer goods. Fewer goods means less tax. Less tax means the State suffers.
When you do anything that harms yourself, you are, in effect, stealing from the State.
Of course, the same could be said of Seatbelt laws and fatty fast foods.
When you see a teenager smoking some dope or an overweight soccer mom downing a bag of donuts, it's all the same. The State (meaning you, me, and everyone else) suffers.
You shouldn't be asking "why is dope illegal". You should be asking "why isn't 60 minutes of cardio 4 times per week mandatory".
Law enforcement acknowledges a thing called the 21-foot-rule. It basicly says that if I have a handgun and I perceive you as a danger, I'm allowed to start shooting at 20-feet away.
The rule is based on the fact that an attacker can close 20 feet before the human brain can regognize an attack and respond by firing the weapon.
Long story short: If you have a knife (or just take an agressive martial arts stance), don't get within 20 feet of a guy with a gun; he has the right to shoot.
they'll save themselves some support costs and increase their profit margins
There was a mistake in your post. I fixed it for you.
It seems every few months, something new comes out that becomes an Internet cornerstone.
The first I remember was BOFH.
Acts of Gord was okay.
Then there was Tucker Max. God how funny.
From TM, I found the Tard Blog. It was the first blog that made me want to go to confession after.
I'd also like to throw out a shout to True Porn Clerk Stories. Now that's some sad shit.
If the ESRB ignores the Government's "suggestion", then you'll see another push to implement a Government-controlled rating board.
Or you'll start to see ESRB members hauled off to jail for kiddie porn or drug use. Their replacements will play along nicely. [/conspiracy_theory]
The distributors of KP don't just file it under a Kiddy Porn folder. They also don't use terms like 14yo_cute_naked. There is a whole subculture of people trading this stuff. A lot of it is passed over IRC and other chat systems with file sharing capabilities. Some of the smarter people use something like Freenet to establish sites.
The vast majority of the real stuff is not on pay sites. You won't be spammed about it. It's dads sharing pics of their 8yo daughters with other dads.
Here is a good place to get started on learning about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_porn#Sources
The most popular keyword they use is r@ygold. However, most people dropping that keyword today will be diverted into a honeypot/sting operations.
You are AC, so I have no idea if you'll see this response.
>>1. Reduce dependence on foreign oil by moving to a smaller city, driving a more fuel-efficient car, walking/bicycling more, and supporting research for natural fuels such as energy cane. See Brazil.
Oil has little or no impact on the desires of Islam. As a group, Muslims want to see everyone in the world become Muslim. They are no different from Christians in this respect. However, Muslim law is much more strict than Christian law. Look at the first few hundred years of Islam. None of the people they conquored depended on oil.
>>2. Reduce the presence of American soldiers in the Middle East. Close bases, de-fund the many "superweapons" that don't actually work and use that money for #1.
This is a pretty good idea. However, for a true retreat from the ME, we must abandon Isreal. Are you willing to pull up tent stakes and watch as Isreal is overrun by Muslims? Isreal will respond by nuking anything that moves within 100 miles of their border. A retreat from the ME will mean nuclear war and millions of deaths.
>>3. Begin cracking down on non-Muslim terrorism at home and abroad, including Christians who shoot doctors, nutjobs who bomb federal buildings and mail anthrax, and Buddhists and Hindus bombing each other.
Anyone in the US who commits murder or a hate crime will be punished. However, with that pesky Constitution thingy, there is only so much law enforcement can do.
>>4. Admit Turkey into the EU with the stipulation that it must respect Western-style human rights including the rights to free speech, peacable assembly, and unusual clothing.
What right do we have to tell another country what they can and can't do with their own citizens? Turkey shouldbe allowed to do whatever it wants until it gets bad enough that we are justified in invading it and overthrowing the ruler. Only then do we have the right to say what the Turks can and can't wear.
>>5. Recognize Kurdistan as a separate nation and open trade negotiations.
As soon as you create Kurdistan, Turkey will invade and you'll have ethnic cleansing. Kurds can't defend themselves. SHould we station US troops there? Should we give them weapons?
No matter what you and your buddies at the bar think, thousands of *very* smart people have tried to come up with a way to solve the Middle East problem. Short of killing every Muslim there, there really isn't anything that can be done. And unfortunately, the West does not have the stomach to declare Jihad and start killing Muslims. However, if the shoe was on the other foot, Muslims would kill us in a heartbeat. When an invader lacks the resolve to commit to an action at the same level as the opponent, then the invader will lose.
I've thought about that too. About 3000 people died on 9-11-2001 in the Towers. Probably several thousand more died from the things you listed above. However, here is a big difference:
# Heart disease
Prople can stop eating fatty food and reduce their risk.
# Cancer
A bit tricky, but not smoking and getting a bit of exercise every now and again would definately help.
# Drunk drivers
This is really dumb. The classic drunk driver horror story is that little Suzie was killed as she waited for a bus to take her to church or school or some such nonsense. However, the vast majority of drunk drivers do it at like 4am when the bar closes. The only people they endanger is themselves and the other people out at 4am.
# Not drunk drivers
More driver education would go a long way to helping out here. In Europe, most people have to take a year's worth of classes and pay several thoudand dollars to get a license.
# homicide
Not much can be done here. Let the pot heads out of jail and start telling people they *will* spend the rest of their lives in jail for *any* homicide.
# AIDs
Stop fucking! Stop using drugs! AIDS is like social darwinism. It's a death tax on the stupid. I don't think it's a plauge on fags and druggies, but seriously, strap on a fucking condom and AIDS would be gone in a few years.
# Firearms
Nothing wrong with firearms. People misusing firearms is a social problem that *could* be solved. However, to say that guns are bad because a small minority of users are criminals is just wrong. If you take my guns because crack heads like to shoot each other, then you might as well take your computer because some perv looks at little girls on the internet.
# ladders
Read the instructions and follow them.
# Drowning
Don't get drunka and swim. Watch your kids and make sure someone is watching you.
And...
# Terrorism
Convert to Islam and become subservient. Other than that, there is nothing you can do to appease these people.
In short, 3000 people died from nothing that had anything to do with them. If they'd spent another 30 minutes on the treadmill, they'd still be dead. If they wore a condom, they'd still be dead. If they'd never had a drink in their life, they'd still be dead. Absolutely nothing they could have done.
You are thinking of it in terms of watching a TV. That's not the problem. Like you say, most people have nothing to say.
However, the real problem is that someone will set up a laptop to sniff an open wireless network and then grep the output for credit-card numbers and MMO passwords. Once they nail a CC#, they can examine the surrounding packets to find expiration dates, names and addresses, and that stupid "security code". MMO passwords can be used to empty a user's inventory for real money.
How many people shop from Starbucks? I dunno. I bet quite a few do. How many play WoW at Starbucks? Probably some.
And make sure to tell them something realy important was on there. Like the names and addresses of the people who attended last year's Police Ball.
Or maybe Baltimore police don't have balls?
In all seriousness, file a "John Doe" civil suit in the ISPs district. As part of the action, ask for discovery on a specific IP address. Since you are filing against John Doe, Verizon will most likely consent. Once you have the name and address of the theif, drop the John Doe case and go back to the police with the guy's name, address, phone number, photos of his house and dog. At this point, either the police press charges, or you lodge an official complaint against the cops.
Look at the following article about how the RIAA uses IP addresses to find people. You should be using similar tactics. Do some sleuthing once you have the address. Make sure you aren't going after some poor bastard with an open WAP while the real theif lives right next door.
Going to the press is a bad idea. The theif is very likely to see the story and will move to dispose of the property.
The US government makes a lot off of taxing copyrighted material. It is in the government's best intrest t0o make sure that people who do not obey an author's copyright are held accountable.
If everything works out right, then our sons and daughters can leach off of the sons and daughters of Iraq. 50 years ago, many wanted to leave Germany and Japan in shambles. Today, would you say we are better or wose off for helping rebuild DE and JP?
If we can do Iraq right, we will have cheap access to oil. We will have millions more customers for Nike, McDonalds, and WalMart. We will have, in 50 years or so, absorbed a large portion of Middle Eastern culture. Our sons and daughters will debate over eating Italian, German, Japanese, or Iraqi food at the mall.
Or, we could just up and leave. Pull out the tentstakes and just hope for the best. How long would it be before the warlords stepped in and turned Iraq into something much worse than we had before?
I don't think that possesion of unlicensed music is a crime. Copyright violation *is* a crime. So, if you have a burned CD of Tool, no one will haul you into court. If, however, you are distributing burned CDs of Tool, you'll preobably be facing a pretty hefty fine.
On a similar note, you can download all the music you want. If you could somehow modify the bittorrent client to not upload a single bit, you could use isohunt and mininova to max out your collection legally. No one would harass you.
But, the first bit of copyrighted music you upload makes you a copyright violator. You did not have permission to upload that 1 or that 0.
If that was their goal, they weren't very smart.
If they really wanted to make mass-transit a PITA, they would get a steel plate, c-4, and a shit-ton of ball bearings. Place steel plate in backpack. Pack c-4 on steel plate towards the back of the backpack. Imbed BBs into c-4.
The terrorist walks, unimpeded right up to the metal detectors in an airport. As he stands right at the head of the 50+ sq meter security gaggle, he detonates his backpack. The steel plate would act as a reflector to ensure maximum rear-facing damage. The BBs would ensure a good ammount of long-distance frags.
There were what, 20 guys involved in the new London thing? Imagine if they hit one security line in every major US airport.
What would the next response be? No more security lines? More checkpoints and, therefore, more security lines?
This could also be done simultaneously in airports, sporting events, movie theaters, plays, really anywhere you have 100+ people in a line or in a gaggle of some sort.