Most of this "skepticism" of the government is a canard that's been propagated by the authoritarian Right Wing.
Most of this skepticism was started by our founding fathers. You might want to read some history books.
Well, you are certainly right as far as you mean it, but I believe the GP poster was referring to the modern American Right Wing notion that government cannot be the solution (or at least the vehicle of the solution) for any of our problems. For example, Ronald Reagan (in)famously said something like "Government is not the solution to the problem. Government *is* the problem."
If some guy next to you is annoying, just ask him nicely to not be.
So what do you think is the best way to handle some irrational jackass on that horribly enclosed space that is a commercial passenger airliner? I agree with you in general that politely asking someone not to do something that is annoying usually works. After all, some people do things that are annoying that they don't realize are annoying at the time, and if you politely tell them, they will politely cease since they will then realize that they are doing something annoying. *BUT*, there are some people who are complete shits and totally irrational to boot. How does one handle people like that on an airplane? I'm not really sure myself.
That was my first reaction. Now, we get to hear three dozen ringtones and three dozens idiots yammering at the top of their voices about three dozen different idiotic things. Although, given how absurd and unreasonable stewardesses tend to be in US airline companies, there will probably be more cancelled flights and tasering incidents aboard commercial aircraft now with so many people talking loudly or telling other people to shut the fuck up. (I know stewardesses can't go around tasering people, but they can get the cops involved).
The quotas are per patent examined and denied/accepted. So, there is no polarity. In fact, if anything, it is a lot easier to say "X anticipates Y, go away" than to approve a patent.
Plus, the longer an examiner can drag a patent application's prosecution out, the more counts they get from Requests for Continued Examination and Continuation applications. Getting counts from those (both first actions and disposals) is a hell of a lot easier than taking up new applications.
Also, the allowance rate at the USPTO is now around 40%, and allowances are generally after a lot of back and forth. Perhaps it should be lower, but it is not nearly the all-application-approving place that slashbots make it out to be.
As I read in someone's sig (though I can't remember the exact statement), asking slashdot about patents is like asking the KKK about blacks and Jews.
The number of sunspots hits a minimum as the globe warms up. Denials at 11.
That's the first thing I thought of. All the dittoheads trying to blame global warming on sunspots. Don't worry, though, they'll find some other absurd excuse soon. Or, just stick their fingers in their ears and say "LA!LA!LA! I can't hear you!"
Your theory seems pretty solid to me. Just from those four examples, we have indisputable proof that the most vitriolic homophobia is usually just a cover up for extreme cases of homosexuality
Ah, but you forgot the fifth extreme case: Jack Thompson
That price was the price they charged the rental companies - it wasn't intended to be bought by end users for that price.
Um, that's the way it is now and the way it was after they finally extracted their heads from their rectal cavities. But, when Beta/VHS tape copies were originally made available for purchase way back when, they were asking about $100 each for private home viewing copies.
Radiohead were signed to EMI, and now they've decided to go it alone and release their new album online, at a price the fans agree on. Could this be what caused this exec to sound the alarm?
Well, in the sense that Radiohead was able to finally roust them from their slumber and scream "The building is on fire, you lazy bastards!", then perhaps. But this has been going on for a long time now. Hell, it's not even new. I remember when VCR's came out and they said the same thing. Also, they started releasing Betamax copies of movies like Star Wars for $100 (and this is in the 80's, so about $200 today). Of course, everyone simply signed up at a video rental club and acquired their own backup copy from the one they rented. Eventually, prices dropped to where people would actually be willing to buy an original copy.
.1. Make the product high quality (nice bitrate) and more convenient than piracy (super fast downloads, instant previews, incredible selection- so no waiting or hunting everywhere, and still no DRM)
.2. Charge a reasonable price that makes people feel like they got their moneys worth, especially compared to the hassle of stealing.
So you only need to make piracy inconvenient and charge based on the much, much lower costs of distribution rather than trying to keep it all.
If this exists, artists keep their work and their royalties and even if half their songs get stolen it's good advertising and they will still come out FAR ahead of the pennies-per-dollar contracts the majors sign people to (if they sign them at all).
Yeah, add to that fact that the technical stuff you need is easily found on a laptop and it doesn't take a lot of expertise to learn how to properly mix music anymore. The only hard part is voice and acoustical instruments. You need a good sound-proof room for that (usually). One of my brothers (and some other people I know) have been producing and packaging their own music and selling them at gigs they play in. They aren't rich stars or anything, but they make some decent money in their spare time doing what they enjoy the hell out of doing.
Why does a musician need to make money hand-over-fist anyway? The whole modern model of producing and selling music is artificial and absurd anyway. I've gotten to where I never buy CDs anymore, and I never download music either. It's entertainment. You won't die without it. And, if organizations like RIAA weren't around, maybe there would be more regional differences in music again. You know. Culture. The thing that's missing today.
Exactly. Americans find perfectly good engineering jobs with "just" a bachelor's degree. There aren't enough jobs which require advanced degrees in engineering to make it worth the time to give up 2-3 years of engineering paychecks, pay for college, pay for books, pay for living expenses, and earn those advanced degrees. More than likely, you'd graduate with a master's or a PhD and work at the same job you could get with a bachelor's degree.
Actually, a Master's degree in an engineering field does generally correlate to an increase in pay and position. It's the Ph.D. that's not really useful unless you are going into academia or into some very specialized sort of field. In Chemistry, it's actually one step above that. You usually need a master's degree to get a decent job (though you can get by with just a bachelors), and a Ph.D. does really help since you can be a senior scientist in a lab. Although, from what I have heard, there are actually not enough BS/MS chemists to fill the bench work positions at a lot of chemical and pharmaceutical companies.
Plus, in a lot of jobs, especially with bigger companies, you can get a job with a BS or MS degree and then go on to study later with the company's help. That's probably the best way to go about getting an advanced degree and getting decently paid at the same time. Unless you study physics. Then, you absolutely need a Ph.D. and you should get used to poverty:-p
Our biggest problem is just that most of the press just doesn't bother to exercise its freedom, because entertainment is more profitable than news or political discussion.
Well, that's certainly true to a point. I wasn't suggesting that we have actual legislation that destroys the freedom of the press. It's more an effect of having most of the media outlets in very few hands. The heads of media outlets aren't going to wreck their profits by harshly criticizing their sponsors. They also have to be careful about how they conduct interviews, otherwise they will be banned from function like White House press briefings.
It's the overall effect of a lot of things, not some particular set draconian laws.
These *really did* look just like the weapons they thought they were.
The problem is that, after they discovered that he did not have WMD, they still tried to pin something on him. Why can't they just admit that they were mistaken and let it go? Welcome to America. When the police think you have done something wrong, then come hell or high water they will try to find something they can charge you with.
Jack Thompson's "moral crusade" against video games, obscenity, rap and well anything morally devient is due wholely to his own immoral desires. Jack cannot control his porn cravings and his lust for violence.
The sad thing is that you are probably right. From my experience, the most adamant moral crusaders are usually those who have trouble leading a life according to their own sense of morality. So, they try to force others to live morally while applying a form of psychological violence to themselves. Developing as a moral human being requires growth and maturity, not (for example) flogging yourself whenever you have naughty thoughts about women you are not married to.
Jack is clearly an overly aggressive person (I know, "No shit!"). It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he were a closet homosexual, or at least a latent homosexual who tries violently to deny it to himself.
Actually, if you listen to the end of the video, one of the cops even threatens to tase the guy who was complaining to them. He says "Get back in there or we'll tase you too." So, you're absolutely right. Talk back to a cop, and they break out the taser.
So, basically you have no response and you are a stupid jackass besides. I haven't found any real academic disproval of the Lancet study, and your bare assertion that "it's there" wouldn't convince. I can be convinced by facts, but you have not shown any, nor are any readily available.
And, FYI, this is a public website. I don't care if an idiot like you doesn't accept what I say, but responding to your drivel does give me a way to express a point of view. The only people manipulated are those who reject something just because people like Kaplan and Malkin boldly state that it is not so.
Slashdot Mirror
Also, the allowance rate at the USPTO is now around 40%, and allowances are generally after a lot of back and forth. Perhaps it should be lower, but it is not nearly the all-application-approving place that slashbots make it out to be.
As I read in someone's sig (though I can't remember the exact statement), asking slashdot about patents is like asking the KKK about blacks and Jews.
Why does a musician need to make money hand-over-fist anyway? The whole modern model of producing and selling music is artificial and absurd anyway. I've gotten to where I never buy CDs anymore, and I never download music either. It's entertainment. You won't die without it. And, if organizations like RIAA weren't around, maybe there would be more regional differences in music again. You know. Culture. The thing that's missing today.
Plus, in a lot of jobs, especially with bigger companies, you can get a job with a BS or MS degree and then go on to study later with the company's help. That's probably the best way to go about getting an advanced degree and getting decently paid at the same time. Unless you study physics. Then, you absolutely need a Ph.D. and you should get used to poverty
It's the overall effect of a lot of things, not some particular set draconian laws.
The difference is that most Americans are under the illusion that we still have a free press.
Jack is clearly an overly aggressive person (I know, "No shit!"). It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he were a closet homosexual, or at least a latent homosexual who tries violently to deny it to himself.
There, fixed.
Actually, if you listen to the end of the video, one of the cops even threatens to tase the guy who was complaining to them. He says "Get back in there or we'll tase you too." So, you're absolutely right. Talk back to a cop, and they break out the taser.
And, FYI, this is a public website. I don't care if an idiot like you doesn't accept what I say, but responding to your drivel does give me a way to express a point of view. The only people manipulated are those who reject something just because people like Kaplan and Malkin boldly state that it is not so.