I'm seeing a LOT of "Government BAD" comments here.
I was around in the early days of the internet. It was a happening time. There was practically an ISP on every block back in the dial up days. Dial up service was CHEAP, it was ALWAYS upgrading, there was TONS of competition. It was awesome. Sure, speeds sucked, but it was what we had. Half the internet wasn't flash ads either, so it wasn't all that bad. The point was there was LOTS of competition and you could choose the big ISP or the small neighborhood ISP. The small neighorhood ISP could actually survive because the government told the Big Boys to play fair with the lines (that tax money subsidized). I was in a small town and we had several local ISPs. We had choices.
Know why? Common Carrier rules. Government regulation of critical infrastructure for the benefit of everyone. And it was AWESOME.
All these people whining about how the government is bad and always screws things up are just flat out WRONG. They're either too young to remember the age of dial up, or too ideologically opposed. Worse, they're LIVING In a privately controlled and unregulated internet. And it SUCKS and it's getting worse, and they're STILL defend it because they've been brainwashed. It turns my stomach....
You've seen the internet grow up under regulation. You've seen the competition and thriving it caused. Now you're seeing what happens when we take away the regulation. We're seeing the decline of competition. You're seeing, for the FIRST TIME EVER, that speeds are going DOWN while prices go up. Put 2 and 2 together, sheesh....
well, if conservatives would stop lobbying for lower and lower taxes(but only for the rich), maybe all our infrastructure wouldn't be crumbling.... You'd think people would get that crumbling government is EXACTLY what conservatives want. They even SAID SO. They are actively trying to starve the government so it shrinks and they can point to all the badness and say "See! We told you government sucked!" even though they're the ones that caused it all.
"Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub." - Grover Norquist
What do you people THINK happens when you keep cutting taxes. Guess what. You can't pay for things. Military has to be paid for. debts have to be paid for. Social Security has to be paid for (because it's OUR money). Roads? Bridges? Those can wait a few more years...
So.... if the internet was publicly owned, it wouldn't be cutting edge (like it is now under private ownership), it will lag technologically (like it is now under private ownership), and the wrong decisions might be made (like now, under private ownership). Frankly, I think the public power grids are holding up rather well. Yes, they need updating, but I take them for granted every day, which I consider a sign of success.
Further, no, it does NOT make perfect sense that repealing regulation would magically mean a return to liability. We've been scaling back regulation for years. I don't see a "return" to liability. I don't think we've ever been there. Please tell me when we had liability law but no regulation? Please tell me when regulation was "invented". Please tell me when we had law, but no regulation.
Law IS regulation. Of behavior. That's kind of the point. Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but you said it....
One could argue that we DID have little/no regulation on say... banking... before the Great Depression. Then we passed a Law called the Glas-Steagal act, regulating banking. And we had many many decades of banking stability until it was recently repealed. The minute it WAS repealed, they did stupid things, and caused a giant crash. Again.
I'll admit to a bit of frustration on this point. I hang out with conservatives, and they keep saying that we should get rid of regulations and let the Free Market regulate companies. I have to keep asking me to show them a free market anywhere in the world. Anywhere. It's a mythical beast used in econ101 textbooks. Then I have to ask them how We the People have punished ANY of the companies that have screwed us over in recent decades. Please. They can't. So, yes, I've been listening to their stupidity for years and it's made me a bit suspicious whenever someone starts crowing about deregulation. And frankly, you sound like them. Liability law indeed.....
Back to the topic at hand instead of our little side Thing, Verizon and the state of NJ are clearly in collusion, and yes, this IS a fine example of regulatory capture. The real problem isn't that this is happening. It's that we're letting it happen. We let it happen every day. Punishing Verizon for this shit behavior WOULD stop them, but that's not going to happen. There will be no mass migration of customers away from Verizon, because people are comfortable and don't give a shit. The other solution is to attack NJ government and threaten them with democracy. Alas, that probably won't happen either because of the same reason... but it DOES have a better chance of happening. Sigh.
P.S. I'm highly involved in trying to get money out of politics, which I consider the ONLY issue of our time. Nothing else will get done while our representatives don't represent us, but do represent those that pay for them to get reelected.
So... before regulation, which, I imagine has existed for a long time, really ever since there has BEEN government, there was liability law? What?
And... I'm having problems following you here, I'm very sorry, but.... regulation was invented to shield businesses from liability law? Please explain. The restaurant business is regulated for certain cleanliness standards. How does that limit any particular restaurant from liability if they poison their customers? Etc.
Please don't assume I don't think. It's quite rude.
You had said that regulation always leads to regulatory capture. I disagree. There is a sweet spot. We've had it before, and we can have it again.
I get what you're saying, I think. If we did away with regulation and some company poisons us, we can sue them into the ground and that would make them behave. I just disagree. Lets keep the regulation. They shouldn't be poisoning us, and there should be clear guidelines about that. Further, we can STILL sue them into the ground to enforce their behavior. Realistically of course, in both scenarios they have FAR more money and organizational power and willl likely evade any attempt to sue them. We have this threat now and they don't give a shit.
So why get rid of regulation? I wholeheartedly agree that we have regulatory capture on a GRAND scale in the U.S. If the criminals are bribing the cops, I don't think the solution is to get rid of cops. That doesn't actually HELP anything.
And if I'm incorrectly assuming that you want to get rid of regulation, as you seem to hint, it's only because you espoused an ideal of.... going back to liability law and doing away with regulation. They're your words man. So say a few more and lets have a civil discussion.
Why try to stop evil? Just let it do what it wants. If you try to stop it, it fights back..... So there's no point. It's far better to just let evil get REALLY evil.
1. Let business do whatever they want.
2. They go rogue and start abusing everyone.
3. ??
4. It magically fixes itself!
I'm seeing ?? as either the pipe dream of Revolutionary Patriots or the Invisible Hand of the Free Market. Both of which are imaginary.... But ok. Y'all just sit back and let the liberals try to fix everything that conservatives let happen to our country... It must be so hard to just be against everything and have no ideas.
Note. Democrats are, for the most part, not that liberal. There are a few exceptions.
Eh. I think it's quite legitimate to give you crud for that "other 99.9%" thing. Americans seem to think that the Urban/Rural divide is an even split. It's not. Most people live in high density urban areas these days.
Further, I think google could provide phone service via it's network and not blink an eye. Why would rates shoot up for moving data on a data network?
Phone companies are EVIL. But yes, at least they're regulated. At least they're not cable companies.:D
Yes. The giant Organic Farming lobby is making it illegal to use pesticides and herbicides./eyeroll.
Let me be clear. GMO hasn't been linked to health effects. Yet.....:D I never argued that. I'm railing against stupid chemical usage instead of taking care of the land. Yes, some feeling is involved. I grew up on a farm.
And no, the farmer in the article did NOT use traditional methods. Tilling is traditional. He doesn't till. He plants a plethora of crop cover plants. He leaves his corn stalks to rot in the field. Basically, he's taking care of the land, and yes, sometimes he still uses chemicals... but it's FAR reduced. And he's doing better than his neighbors.
I read your study. Did you read the article at all, or did you just skim it? Or do you just not know anything about farming? I do. I grew up on a farm. I'm also NOT saying GMOs bad. I'm saying Stupid Farming Bad. I'm saying mass Pesticide and Herbicide use is lazy farming, and harmful to the soil and ecosystem.
I think you're assuming I'm a hippy. I think you're fighting a stereotype instead of what I'm saying.
"Syria’s ability to produce chemical weapons has been destroyed and its remaining toxic armaments secured, weapons inspectors said Thursday, as President Bashar al-Assad has offered unexpectedly robust cooperation".
Yes, I have evidence that this is true. That's because I listen to evidence before coming up with my opinion, instead of forming my opinion and then looking for evidence. That took me a 15 second google search to find. Should I look it up for Iran too? Nah. I'll let you do it. You need the practice. Also, there's a story ON SLASHDOT about Iran getting rid of their 20% uranium.
Ukraine? Sanctions are starting to have an effect. We'll see. Huh, weird, and just a few days ago, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal to let Crimea be it's own independant region... which it's always been anyway.
So, basically, you're wrong on every account, and a few minutes of googling would have told you that were you actually interested in the information and the context of the situation. I'd suggest not paying attention to mainstream news. They suck at context.
Oh, PLEASE tell us all how the Arab Spring was Obama's fault... And Fuck Israel.
Nobody takes us seriously because we started two wars over bad intelligence. No one takes us seriously because we talk about democracy and freedom and then invade countries that don't do what we say. Nobody takes us seriously because we've overthrown democratically elected governments. No one takes us seriously because we're a f'in joke.... We're a child with a giant stick running around hitting other children
It's weird, but plenty of countries are taken seriously without waving their military around. Japan's taken seriously, and they don't even have a military to speak of! We wield enough economic and cultural power that we shouldn't even have to use our military. And strangely enough, when we DO use diplomacy and sanctions, stuff gets done.
That weakling got Osama, has Iran giving up it's highly enriched Uranium to lift the sanctions, and cut a deal that got Syria to give up their chemical weapons. There are other measures of strength than blowing shit up. Diplomacy works.
Now, as a dirty lib, I do believe he is a weak president on the homefront. Dude hasn't even TRIED to fulfill his campaign promises and keeps trying to cut deals with the Republicans who clearly aren't going to give him squadoo even though he gives them 90% of what they wanted anyway. Sigh....
If you're going to hate on Obama, hate on him for real reasons. His foreign policy had strengthened us, not weakened us. Bush is the one that took us from having the whole world supporting us to having everyone revile us. Again....
I'm really weirded out by all the people who give accolades to Putin lately. Russia's a shithole man. It's an oligarchy, flat out. He's not standing up to anyone. Standing up would be helping people and NOT debt slaving them with the IMF. How is invading the Ukraine when it's down in any way brave or good?
Invading Syria would have worked as well as invading Afghanistan and Iraq did....
Everyone's all PO'ed at Obama for using diplomacy instead of War.
It's diplomacy that has Iran giving up their enriched uranium. It's (accidental) diplomacy that got Syria to give up their chemical weapons. Diplomacy works. War? Afghanistan and Iraq aren't going too well for us. There's no infrastructure, no democracy, tons of opium, and the Taliban are stronger now than they used to be.
There are other measures of strength besides blowing shit up.
Every time we do something to change the world and someone says "It's not a problem.", they're usually wrong.
Weeds don't leach nutrients. They make it hard for the farm machinery to do it's job. They also help support insects, slow evaporation, and support an ecological system that helps support the crop plants. Web of Life Good. There is a problem where we take too much from the soil, and we have to do crop rotation and let fields go fallow to get that back in. We have to fertilize. We have to grow some legumes and let them put nitrogen back into the soil... Frankly, we use herbicides because it's easier and we're lazy, not because they're a better solution.
And the genes for producing pesticides get out into the wild and the insects develop resistances. It IS happening. Refuges help, but... Then there's the side effects.:D Most pesticides mess up the neurological systems of bugs. Including all the beneficial bugs....
No tilling and good usage of cover crops does wonders... We only ever tilled because it made it easier to drop seeds in, and we thought it would help mix fertilizer into the soil. turns out it just disrupts the systems in the soil and makes fields prone to erosion.
I don't think it's fear mongering to point to what we KNOW is happening, and what WILL happen. I don't think it's fear mongering to point to alternative methods that work just as well and have less side effects and say "Hey! this is way better!". And we don't have a problem producing food. Famines are a food distribution problem, not a food production problem. If you want to fight famine, educate small farmers in poor countries on sustainable methods. Or, you could sell them patented seeds, and then patented chemicals, and then put them in debt forever.
Sock Puppets?/looks around. Uh dude? My name's on every comment. The rest of them are telling me I'm an idiot.:D No sock puppets... And yes, I did have my own Moran moment. Sigh.... I'm still right though.:D
I'm not against GM food. I am against Monsanto. They're a chemical company. The seeds are just there to help them sell chemicals. I'm an ex farmer man. I know the industry, and I know what they've done to it.
Well, let it not be said that I don't acknowledge my own stupid mistakes.
Roundup is an Herbicide, which yes, kills plants, not insects. Farmers spray it on their fields so only the plant they want grows, and not all the weeds (which would probably provide cover for the ground and help reduce evaporation, but oh well.)
Despite my Tongue Twisting Error, the stupid WEEDS are becoming resistant to Roundup, because evolution.
We have a similar issue with INSECTS becoming resistant to PESTICIDES.
Both of these scenarios leave us with farmers who can't reuse seed, have to buy expensive seed, and now that the weeds and insects are growing resistant, the expensive chemicals they bought don't work there either. Then there's the environmental effects of spraying herbicide and pesticide all over, which usually runs off into your drinking water, etc.
Sorry I misspoke. My Apologies. Despite my very stupid brain fart, what I am saying is still accurate.
Citation? Do a google search for "Get a brain morans".:D
Ah, sorry. You're right. We're just way more educated by Liberal Training Camps, I mean universities. Where we learn stuff. Everyone is welcome, but oddly enough learning stuff seems to turn people Liberal. It's really weird.
OK... I'm being an ass. Everyone? I'm sorry. Not sorry enough to NOT push the button, but... Sorry. So much vitriol on Slashdot lately.....
Uh, Linux IS awesome.
MS is a convicted monopolist. Yes, they're evil. Oh, apple gets plenty of hate, I don't know where you got that?
I would LOVE for you to prove global warming false. Please do. http://www.wolframalpha.com/in... And, yes, it IS science.
Electric cars ARE awesome, but no, we don't want to fuck Elon Musk. He is pretty awesome for what he's done though and deserves accolades.
NASA gets about 0.5% of the federal budget. Yes. I think we all think they should get more.
OSS software is pretty awesome sometimes, for obvious reasons.
So... why the !@#$ are you on Slashdot, News for Nerds? Cultural Groups tend to think alike. Film at Eleven...
Slashdot Mirror
Do you think that towns pay for bridges? Nope.... they don't have NEARLY the moola needed.
I'm seeing a LOT of "Government BAD" comments here.
I was around in the early days of the internet. It was a happening time. There was practically an ISP on every block back in the dial up days. Dial up service was CHEAP, it was ALWAYS upgrading, there was TONS of competition. It was awesome. Sure, speeds sucked, but it was what we had. Half the internet wasn't flash ads either, so it wasn't all that bad. The point was there was LOTS of competition and you could choose the big ISP or the small neighborhood ISP. The small neighorhood ISP could actually survive because the government told the Big Boys to play fair with the lines (that tax money subsidized). I was in a small town and we had several local ISPs. We had choices.
Know why? Common Carrier rules. Government regulation of critical infrastructure for the benefit of everyone. And it was AWESOME.
All these people whining about how the government is bad and always screws things up are just flat out WRONG. They're either too young to remember the age of dial up, or too ideologically opposed. Worse, they're LIVING In a privately controlled and unregulated internet. And it SUCKS and it's getting worse, and they're STILL defend it because they've been brainwashed. It turns my stomach....
You've seen the internet grow up under regulation. You've seen the competition and thriving it caused. Now you're seeing what happens when we take away the regulation. We're seeing the decline of competition. You're seeing, for the FIRST TIME EVER, that speeds are going DOWN while prices go up. Put 2 and 2 together, sheesh....
well, if conservatives would stop lobbying for lower and lower taxes(but only for the rich), maybe all our infrastructure wouldn't be crumbling.... You'd think people would get that crumbling government is EXACTLY what conservatives want. They even SAID SO. They are actively trying to starve the government so it shrinks and they can point to all the badness and say "See! We told you government sucked!" even though they're the ones that caused it all.
"Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub." - Grover Norquist
What do you people THINK happens when you keep cutting taxes. Guess what. You can't pay for things. Military has to be paid for. debts have to be paid for. Social Security has to be paid for (because it's OUR money). Roads? Bridges? Those can wait a few more years...
So.... if the internet was publicly owned, it wouldn't be cutting edge (like it is now under private ownership), it will lag technologically (like it is now under private ownership), and the wrong decisions might be made (like now, under private ownership). Frankly, I think the public power grids are holding up rather well. Yes, they need updating, but I take them for granted every day, which I consider a sign of success.
Is the Internet essential infrastructure? YES
Should local governments step in to preserve equality of access? YES
Further, no, it does NOT make perfect sense that repealing regulation would magically mean a return to liability. We've been scaling back regulation for years. I don't see a "return" to liability. I don't think we've ever been there. Please tell me when we had liability law but no regulation? Please tell me when regulation was "invented". Please tell me when we had law, but no regulation.
Law IS regulation. Of behavior. That's kind of the point. Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but you said it....
One could argue that we DID have little/no regulation on say... banking... before the Great Depression. Then we passed a Law called the Glas-Steagal act, regulating banking. And we had many many decades of banking stability until it was recently repealed. The minute it WAS repealed, they did stupid things, and caused a giant crash. Again.
I'll admit to a bit of frustration on this point. I hang out with conservatives, and they keep saying that we should get rid of regulations and let the Free Market regulate companies. I have to keep asking me to show them a free market anywhere in the world. Anywhere. It's a mythical beast used in econ101 textbooks. Then I have to ask them how We the People have punished ANY of the companies that have screwed us over in recent decades. Please. They can't. So, yes, I've been listening to their stupidity for years and it's made me a bit suspicious whenever someone starts crowing about deregulation. And frankly, you sound like them. Liability law indeed.....
Back to the topic at hand instead of our little side Thing, Verizon and the state of NJ are clearly in collusion, and yes, this IS a fine example of regulatory capture. The real problem isn't that this is happening. It's that we're letting it happen. We let it happen every day. Punishing Verizon for this shit behavior WOULD stop them, but that's not going to happen. There will be no mass migration of customers away from Verizon, because people are comfortable and don't give a shit. The other solution is to attack NJ government and threaten them with democracy. Alas, that probably won't happen either because of the same reason... but it DOES have a better chance of happening. Sigh.
P.S. I'm highly involved in trying to get money out of politics, which I consider the ONLY issue of our time. Nothing else will get done while our representatives don't represent us, but do represent those that pay for them to get reelected.
What strawman did I hold up?
So... before regulation, which, I imagine has existed for a long time, really ever since there has BEEN government, there was liability law? What?
And... I'm having problems following you here, I'm very sorry, but.... regulation was invented to shield businesses from liability law? Please explain. The restaurant business is regulated for certain cleanliness standards. How does that limit any particular restaurant from liability if they poison their customers? Etc.
Please don't assume I don't think. It's quite rude.
You had said that regulation always leads to regulatory capture. I disagree. There is a sweet spot. We've had it before, and we can have it again.
I get what you're saying, I think. If we did away with regulation and some company poisons us, we can sue them into the ground and that would make them behave. I just disagree. Lets keep the regulation. They shouldn't be poisoning us, and there should be clear guidelines about that. Further, we can STILL sue them into the ground to enforce their behavior. Realistically of course, in both scenarios they have FAR more money and organizational power and willl likely evade any attempt to sue them. We have this threat now and they don't give a shit.
So why get rid of regulation? I wholeheartedly agree that we have regulatory capture on a GRAND scale in the U.S. If the criminals are bribing the cops, I don't think the solution is to get rid of cops. That doesn't actually HELP anything.
And if I'm incorrectly assuming that you want to get rid of regulation, as you seem to hint, it's only because you espoused an ideal of .... going back to liability law and doing away with regulation. They're your words man. So say a few more and lets have a civil discussion.
Oh god no. i would never want that job.
Why try to stop evil? Just let it do what it wants. If you try to stop it, it fights back..... So there's no point. It's far better to just let evil get REALLY evil.
I'm seeing ?? as either the pipe dream of Revolutionary Patriots or the Invisible Hand of the Free Market. Both of which are imaginary.... But ok. Y'all just sit back and let the liberals try to fix everything that conservatives let happen to our country... It must be so hard to just be against everything and have no ideas.
Note. Democrats are, for the most part, not that liberal. There are a few exceptions.
Dear everyone here,
Brazil is not the U.S. It has a different culture. Your cultural norms cannot be blindly fit onto Brazil. Please stop trying.
P.S. The rest of the world would like to express the same thing. They started a queue.
Remember folks, if you can't argue the facts, attack the person. Ad Hominem Attacks, for the win!
Eh. I think it's quite legitimate to give you crud for that "other 99.9%" thing. Americans seem to think that the Urban/Rural divide is an even split. It's not. Most people live in high density urban areas these days.
Further, I think google could provide phone service via it's network and not blink an eye. Why would rates shoot up for moving data on a data network?
Phone companies are EVIL. But yes, at least they're regulated. At least they're not cable companies. :D
Let me be clear. GMO hasn't been linked to health effects. Yet..... :D I never argued that. I'm railing against stupid chemical usage instead of taking care of the land. Yes, some feeling is involved. I grew up on a farm.
And no, the farmer in the article did NOT use traditional methods. Tilling is traditional. He doesn't till. He plants a plethora of crop cover plants. He leaves his corn stalks to rot in the field. Basically, he's taking care of the land, and yes, sometimes he still uses chemicals... but it's FAR reduced. And he's doing better than his neighbors.
I read your study. Did you read the article at all, or did you just skim it? Or do you just not know anything about farming? I do. I grew up on a farm. I'm also NOT saying GMOs bad. I'm saying Stupid Farming Bad. I'm saying mass Pesticide and Herbicide use is lazy farming, and harmful to the soil and ecosystem.
I think you're assuming I'm a hippy. I think you're fighting a stereotype instead of what I'm saying.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0
"Syria’s ability to produce chemical weapons has been destroyed and its remaining toxic armaments secured, weapons inspectors said Thursday, as President Bashar al-Assad has offered unexpectedly robust cooperation".
Yes, I have evidence that this is true. That's because I listen to evidence before coming up with my opinion, instead of forming my opinion and then looking for evidence. That took me a 15 second google search to find. Should I look it up for Iran too? Nah. I'll let you do it. You need the practice. Also, there's a story ON SLASHDOT about Iran getting rid of their 20% uranium.
Ukraine? Sanctions are starting to have an effect. We'll see. Huh, weird, and just a few days ago, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal to let Crimea be it's own independant region... which it's always been anyway.
So, basically, you're wrong on every account, and a few minutes of googling would have told you that were you actually interested in the information and the context of the situation. I'd suggest not paying attention to mainstream news. They suck at context.
Oh, PLEASE tell us all how the Arab Spring was Obama's fault... And Fuck Israel.
Nobody takes us seriously because we started two wars over bad intelligence. No one takes us seriously because we talk about democracy and freedom and then invade countries that don't do what we say. Nobody takes us seriously because we've overthrown democratically elected governments. No one takes us seriously because we're a f'in joke.... We're a child with a giant stick running around hitting other children
It's weird, but plenty of countries are taken seriously without waving their military around. Japan's taken seriously, and they don't even have a military to speak of! We wield enough economic and cultural power that we shouldn't even have to use our military. And strangely enough, when we DO use diplomacy and sanctions, stuff gets done.
That weakling got Osama, has Iran giving up it's highly enriched Uranium to lift the sanctions, and cut a deal that got Syria to give up their chemical weapons. There are other measures of strength than blowing shit up. Diplomacy works.
Now, as a dirty lib, I do believe he is a weak president on the homefront. Dude hasn't even TRIED to fulfill his campaign promises and keeps trying to cut deals with the Republicans who clearly aren't going to give him squadoo even though he gives them 90% of what they wanted anyway. Sigh....
If you're going to hate on Obama, hate on him for real reasons. His foreign policy had strengthened us, not weakened us. Bush is the one that took us from having the whole world supporting us to having everyone revile us. Again....
I'm really weirded out by all the people who give accolades to Putin lately. Russia's a shithole man. It's an oligarchy, flat out. He's not standing up to anyone. Standing up would be helping people and NOT debt slaving them with the IMF. How is invading the Ukraine when it's down in any way brave or good?
Invading Syria would have worked as well as invading Afghanistan and Iraq did....
Everyone's all PO'ed at Obama for using diplomacy instead of War.
It's diplomacy that has Iran giving up their enriched uranium. It's (accidental) diplomacy that got Syria to give up their chemical weapons. Diplomacy works. War? Afghanistan and Iraq aren't going too well for us. There's no infrastructure, no democracy, tons of opium, and the Taliban are stronger now than they used to be.
There are other measures of strength besides blowing shit up.
That being said, Obama IS a weak president. :D
Every time we do something to change the world and someone says "It's not a problem.", they're usually wrong.
Weeds don't leach nutrients. They make it hard for the farm machinery to do it's job. They also help support insects, slow evaporation, and support an ecological system that helps support the crop plants. Web of Life Good. There is a problem where we take too much from the soil, and we have to do crop rotation and let fields go fallow to get that back in. We have to fertilize. We have to grow some legumes and let them put nitrogen back into the soil... Frankly, we use herbicides because it's easier and we're lazy, not because they're a better solution.
And the genes for producing pesticides get out into the wild and the insects develop resistances. It IS happening. Refuges help, but... Then there's the side effects. :D Most pesticides mess up the neurological systems of bugs. Including all the beneficial bugs....
GM crops absolutely produce more food per acre than Dumb Farming. Smart farming however? http://www.motherjones.com/env...
No tilling and good usage of cover crops does wonders... We only ever tilled because it made it easier to drop seeds in, and we thought it would help mix fertilizer into the soil. turns out it just disrupts the systems in the soil and makes fields prone to erosion.
I don't think it's fear mongering to point to what we KNOW is happening, and what WILL happen. I don't think it's fear mongering to point to alternative methods that work just as well and have less side effects and say "Hey! this is way better!". And we don't have a problem producing food. Famines are a food distribution problem, not a food production problem. If you want to fight famine, educate small farmers in poor countries on sustainable methods. Or, you could sell them patented seeds, and then patented chemicals, and then put them in debt forever.
Read the link.
Sock Puppets? /looks around. Uh dude? My name's on every comment. The rest of them are telling me I'm an idiot. :D No sock puppets... And yes, I did have my own Moran moment. Sigh.... I'm still right though. :D
I'm not against GM food. I am against Monsanto. They're a chemical company. The seeds are just there to help them sell chemicals. I'm an ex farmer man. I know the industry, and I know what they've done to it.
I hold no pride in my mistake. I fixed it above. Despite my brain fart, the problem is still real.
I am not ignorant. Just tired.... The contempt is very real though. I don't hold it with pride, but it is there.
Ah. I see. Wwwwoooosh! Yes. I mispoke. ha!
Well, let it not be said that I don't acknowledge my own stupid mistakes.
Roundup is an Herbicide, which yes, kills plants, not insects. Farmers spray it on their fields so only the plant they want grows, and not all the weeds (which would probably provide cover for the ground and help reduce evaporation, but oh well.)
Despite my Tongue Twisting Error, the stupid WEEDS are becoming resistant to Roundup, because evolution.
We have a similar issue with INSECTS becoming resistant to PESTICIDES.
Both of these scenarios leave us with farmers who can't reuse seed, have to buy expensive seed, and now that the weeds and insects are growing resistant, the expensive chemicals they bought don't work there either. Then there's the environmental effects of spraying herbicide and pesticide all over, which usually runs off into your drinking water, etc.
Sorry I misspoke. My Apologies. Despite my very stupid brain fart, what I am saying is still accurate.
Uhm... insects do develop a resistance to herbicide. It's a big problem....
Citation? Do a google search for "Get a brain morans". :D
Ah, sorry. You're right. We're just way more educated by Liberal Training Camps, I mean universities. Where we learn stuff. Everyone is welcome, but oddly enough learning stuff seems to turn people Liberal. It's really weird.
OK... I'm being an ass. Everyone? I'm sorry. Not sorry enough to NOT push the button, but... Sorry. So much vitriol on Slashdot lately.....
MS is a convicted monopolist. Yes, they're evil. Oh, apple gets plenty of hate, I don't know where you got that?
I would LOVE for you to prove global warming false. Please do. http://www.wolframalpha.com/in... And, yes, it IS science.
Electric cars ARE awesome, but no, we don't want to fuck Elon Musk. He is pretty awesome for what he's done though and deserves accolades.
NASA gets about 0.5% of the federal budget. Yes. I think we all think they should get more.
OSS software is pretty awesome sometimes, for obvious reasons.
So... why the !@#$ are you on Slashdot, News for Nerds? Cultural Groups tend to think alike. Film at Eleven...