Your points 1 & 2 are precisely the same conclusion drawn by Dubner and Levitt in Freakonomics. They make it in reference to a program the city of Chicago enacted to send books to kids in hopes that they would get smarter by osmosis or something.
And yet sometimes it might just work - my wife is still astounded by her own mother looking at our bookshelves and commenting "have you read all them?" Clearly, she became a voracious reader in spite of, rather than because of, points 1, 2 & your comment above
-- *The on-topic bit: knowledge of how things should stay put or move can be garnered by experience or reading about other people's experiences. Or, put more simply - "learn more by doing, or by reading (whichever is quicker)"
Books are cheap, but the storage of the books is seen (by both (some)"wealthy" and (some)"poor") as expensive
However, "rich" parents with no interest in knowledge are more likely to indulge their offspring with an interest in books than "poor" parents with no interest in knowledge.
Hence, "rich" kids will tend to have more exposure to books than "poor" kids (excepting those cross-class boundaries of those interested in knowledge for its own sake)
6: Not available outside North America (presumably because getting the rights for the marketplace agreed was too hard), which then planted the meme that it could only take purchased tracks, rather than "rip your own CD".
7: Marketplace tracks were priced in "points" rather than real money, which meant that the customer needed to pre-load the points ("What, I need to pay for my music in advance! Why can't I just pay when I want it?").
Now, while both of those are incorrect (it could take MP3, and the loading of points could be done at purchase), it gave out the wrong perceptions. And in this game, perception is all.
that the current Prime Minister was not elected to that role but merely placed there by his party
Sorry, but *what*?!?!?
How - SPECIFICALLY - did the party "place" him there?.
The leader of the Labour Party at the last UK General Election (when Labour was elected) was Tony Blair. Tony Blair stood down. Normally, this would lead to a leadership contest (so at least the parliamentary party would vote on a successor). Gordon Brown was unopposed as new leader, so the Party placed him in the row of Prime Minister.
Hence, Gordon Brown is the unelected Prime Minister, appointed solely by the Party (without even the elected membership voting for him).
A couple or so years ago, I asked a university lecturer why they used so much MS software, when the obviously had knowledge of Linux and Unix -- the reply was something like "we get it free" (or perhaps "almost free").
Don't forget that in the early days (Windows 3 / 3.1), MS tended to turn a blind eye to copying, as it increased mindshare.
(Also, at the same time, some organisations were still on DOS, but the new machines came with Windows disks. Those installing the company setup used to keep the Windows disks, or give them away. Of course, once they had all the copies of Windows that they and their friends could possibly use, a quick re-format of the floppy disks allowed their re-use - disks were expensive)
The Zune was in effect sold with a predictable and correctable flaw (leap years are very predictable), causing it fail out with normal wear and tear, which would class it as defective product.
In UK law at least this is a significant difference... you can never tell in the US though.
Perhaps the existing consumer protection legislation is one reason why it hasn't been sold in the UK?
Because I state openly that the image exists, would my site get an X rating?
Unfortunately, the answer is "probably yes". When the Gollum acceptance speech (from the MTV Awards) was included as a (hard to find, and not otherwise linked) Easter Egg on the Fellowship of the Ring DVD, IIRC it ws going to be re-rated "R" instead of "PG" because of it.
Not only is he an advocate of "42 days", he is also a total despotic hypocrite. from the Telegraph article: (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/3965513/Labour-doesnt-understand-the-internet.html)
Mr Burnham says that his own children are closely supervised when they use the computer. No impractical rating system is necessary in his household. It is as a parent, therefore, rather than as a politician that he is pointing the way forward.
So, it is as "a parent", that he demands something that is "impractical" and unnecessary (in his household)? Nope, it is exactly like a dead-beat politician that he is acting.
but I'm saying tracking non-citizens is just common sense.
Of course, if it really was "common sense", then it's the kind of thing that would have been in place for decades. Ergo, it is not "common sense", but yet another "security theatre" response.
Slashdot Mirror
Your points 1 & 2 are precisely the same conclusion drawn by Dubner and Levitt in Freakonomics. They make it in reference to a program the city of Chicago enacted to send books to kids in hopes that they would get smarter by osmosis or something.
And yet sometimes it might just work - my wife is still astounded by her own mother looking at our bookshelves and commenting "have you read all them?"
Clearly, she became a voracious reader in spite of, rather than because of, points 1, 2 & your comment above
completely off topic (or is it*)
love the sig.
--
*The on-topic bit: knowledge of how things should stay put or move can be garnered by experience or reading about other people's experiences.
Or, put more simply - "learn more by doing, or by reading (whichever is quicker)"
Books are cheap, but the storage of the books is seen (by both (some)"wealthy" and (some)"poor") as expensive
However, "rich" parents with no interest in knowledge are more likely to indulge their offspring with an interest in books than "poor" parents with no interest in knowledge.
Hence, "rich" kids will tend to have more exposure to books than "poor" kids (excepting those cross-class boundaries of those interested in knowledge for its own sake)
How about:
6: Not available outside North America (presumably because getting the rights for the marketplace agreed was too hard), which then planted the meme that it could only take purchased tracks, rather than "rip your own CD".
7: Marketplace tracks were priced in "points" rather than real money, which meant that the customer needed to pre-load the points ("What, I need to pay for my music in advance! Why can't I just pay when I want it?").
Now, while both of those are incorrect (it could take MP3, and the loading of points could be done at purchase), it gave out the wrong perceptions. And in this game, perception is all.
So there is a marked for a not dumbed doen uncool things. Sure, they are not as profitable, but it's all about the choice.
Except that the Zune, by all accounts, was uncool and dumbed down
Bravo!
(The USA is a wonderful place - its geography, its people, its ethos. Just a pity that its bureaucracy is completely screwed up)
But, if we get rid of Homeland Security, the tourists win.
Here's hoping the next president has better pronunciation!
that the current Prime Minister was not elected to that role but merely placed there by his party
Sorry, but *what*?!?!?
How - SPECIFICALLY - did the party "place" him there?.
The leader of the Labour Party at the last UK General Election (when Labour was elected) was Tony Blair. Tony Blair stood down. Normally, this would lead to a leadership contest (so at least the parliamentary party would vote on a successor). Gordon Brown was unopposed as new leader, so the Party placed him in the row of Prime Minister.
Hence, Gordon Brown is the unelected Prime Minister, appointed solely by the Party (without even the elected membership voting for him).
A couple or so years ago, I asked a university lecturer why they used so much MS software, when the obviously had knowledge of Linux and Unix -- the reply was something like "we get it free" (or perhaps "almost free").
Don't forget that in the early days (Windows 3 / 3.1), MS tended to turn a blind eye to copying, as it increased mindshare.
(Also, at the same time, some organisations were still on DOS, but the new machines came with Windows disks. Those installing the company setup used to keep the Windows disks, or give them away. Of course, once they had all the copies of Windows that they and their friends could possibly use, a quick re-format of the floppy disks allowed their re-use - disks were expensive)
The Zune was in effect sold with a predictable and correctable flaw (leap years are very predictable), causing it fail out with normal wear and tear, which would class it as defective product.
In UK law at least this is a significant difference... you can never tell in the US though.
Perhaps the existing consumer protection legislation is one reason why it hasn't been sold in the UK?
Perhaps a worldwide RBL that completely deletes a hostile force from the Internet, based on a vote.
Wow! Just think - no more interference from any politicians. Or the RIAA.
Because I state openly that the image exists, would my site get an X rating?
Unfortunately, the answer is "probably yes". When the Gollum acceptance speech (from the MTV Awards) was included as a (hard to find, and not otherwise linked) Easter Egg on the Fellowship of the Ring DVD, IIRC it ws going to be re-rated "R" instead of "PG" because of it.
Not only is he an advocate of "42 days", he is also a total despotic hypocrite. from the Telegraph article:
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/3965513/Labour-doesnt-understand-the-internet.html)
So, it is as "a parent", that he demands something that is "impractical" and unnecessary (in his household)? Nope, it is exactly like a dead-beat politician that he is acting.
Why is this rated funny? Surely it must be the result of several mis-clicks while aiming for "informative"...
Because sometimes humour is the best mechanism for pointing out the truth?
Why are countries making all of these efforts and the citizens are the last to hear about it.
Because those selling the "solutions" are really good at their job, and those buying have difficulty saying "no"
That's right. Soon the only people not in the government db will be those who entered the country illegally outside of designated entry points.
...or those who are running the government db.
(what, you thought they would be honest enough to include themselves?)
Bravo! well said!
(and to all those with mod points out there - mod parent up. You know it makes sense)
Bottom line is this is a non-story, as fingerprints have always been required.
Ah, that's "always", as in "we have always been at war with Eurasia... err, always been at war with Eastasia"
but I'm saying tracking non-citizens is just common sense.
Of course, if it really was "common sense", then it's the kind of thing that would have been in place for decades. Ergo, it is not "common sense", but yet another "security theatre" response.
For all the good it might do:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/NoTermExtension/
Thanks for the info. (Works for anyone in the UK)
Thanks for the clarification - that's the clearest distinction between Senators and Congressmen I've seen
Who is willing to bet that the testing is done over "carefully controlled" conditions designed to hide all the faults of the system?
Or even easier - any conditions that show up faults in the system can be safely ignored as "statistical noise"
MP = Member of Parliament (in other words, one of the UK's elected representatives in Parliament - much like a Senator in the US)
Why has someone modded this Flamebait? - it perfectly well sums up how completely distanced from reality the Home Secretary is.
Only true NuLabour sheeple would think otherwise
Reprehensible woman. Put her in the stocks.
Give her a taste of her own medicine - lock her up for 42 days - and if she's good, someone might even remember to feed her.
After all, anyone who spreads such blatant lies must be a terrorist.