I don't use QuickLaunch, because it's an ugly hack that wastes valuable space. I use 3rd party hideable toolbar (Blanch) and a dedicated key on my multimedia keyboard for the calculator. And in any case, I can type Start+R, ca, Enter faster that you can click on a 16x16 pixel icon.
I also don't use XP GUI. In fact, I use Classic Win95 GUI on Windows 2000 Pro. Don't know what is cluttered there, looks pretty lean to me - better than OS X or most Linux environments.
As I already said, I already use Konfabulator and thus have experienced firsthand pretty much all Dashboard functionality. Yes, you can manage desktop layer and "Konspose" layer separately. This is not convenient. And in any case the idea of laying out tools that you might need visually on a desktop (even if that's a hideable layer) is impractical and foolishly user-unfriendly.
As you are already aware, there are countless ways to launch applications, including the QuickLaunch panel that you seem to be so fond of. Touting another way to access a calculator as a huge innovation is lame. Apple and Microsoft suck really bad.
The big problem is that Konfabulator/Dashboard/Sideshow combine a good idea of easy to write XML/JS-based applets with a bad idea of forcing a particular access method on everyone.
This applies primarily to interactive widgets. Why are the users forced to place them in that hideable layer and use F12 to bring them? Why aren't they allowed to use hierarchical menues, icons, toolbars, mouse gestures, custom hotkeys, etc. to activate these widgets?
This is Apple forcing the inadequate desktop metaphore on users. It's as if we were prohibited from using desk drawers in real world - use all tools that you want (pens, pencils, scissors, etc.), but only as long as you can fit them on your desk.
The proposed model may work for people who only need access to a few widgets, but that means the potential of Dashboard is not realised.
Fuck you, moron. I have had Konfabulator installed for 6 months already. Don't give me that "on demand" shit, because I know it. Konfabulator/Dashboard is only useful for display widgets, such as calendars, reminders, etc. It's idiotic to add a calculator (or anything else interactive) there, because there are already better ways to access it (though arguably not as pretty).
On my computer I can start the calculator using ONE key - the custom key on my multimedia keyboard. I was just making the point that there is no compelling need to make starting of the calculator application somehow faster (except for clueless newbies).
Who says it doesn't scale? And more importantly -- why should it? Do we need scalable calculators? Are you really that stupid? If Dashboard is simply an uber-technology to add fancy clocks and weather widgets to desktop (or the hidden "on demand" layer, if you wish), that's fine with me, but don't tout it as a great usability feature that would change the way we use computers. And if it is going to live up to the hype, then it should be possible to have at least 10-20 different tools for it to have the impact.
It seems nobody really made the effort to actually read what I wrote. May be I should have made myself clearer. As a matter of fact, I have used Konfabulator (which Apple copied almost verbatim for Dashboard) for half a year already. The problem is real - you are supposed to replace icons and menus (that can efficiently give access to a huge variety of tools) with a limited number of tools that you can fit on a 1024x768 screen.
As I said, this creates an obvious problem. You either clutter your desktop (or a "secondary layer") with useless shit or you don't have access to the rare tool that you might need once every 2 months. Either way you loose.
Dashboard approach can be useful for a limited number of functions - clocks, calendars, reminders, weather and news tickers. That's it. Check the widget galleries - there is almost nothing beyond these 5 categories.
Adding interactive widgets to this creates a huge mess. Using a hideable toolbar with tabs (Blanch for Windows) I can already access any accessory I need using two clicks. Dashboard is useless eye-candy. Shame on Apple and Microsoft for pretending (for marketing reasons) it's something more.
Dashboard is a stupid technology, it doesn't scale. You have to preselect the widgets that you need and that is idiotic. Another idiotic thing is that Dashboard combines both interactive widgets (translation, calculator, etc.) and passive information output widgets (weather, time, CPU utilization, etc.). This means that I have to clutter my desktop with useless shit (interactive widgets). It would make much more sense to simply run an application (using one of the million existing ways to start it) when I need it. To start a calculator I can already do Start+R, calc, Enter. No reason to place it on the desktop using Dashboard.
And this is what these companies call innovation? Utter incompetence in action.
Opera M2 mail client is the application that probably inspired Gmail. M2 has indexing, flat hierarchy with smart folders, database-based storage and pretty much everything Gmail has and more. It also stores everything on your computer.
No, he isn't basically right. Your original comment was correct, and your "when does 'learning' become 'IP theft'?" is very insightful.
To even think about protecting professors' lectures by IP laws is sick beyond belief. It is horrible that there are people in the world for whom it's not morally repugnant.
Mail: If you get used to the Opera mail client, there is no turning back. I handle rather insane amounts of mail, and I never spend time organizing my mail. Opera does that already.
That's so true. I don't have insane amounts of mail right now, but M2 is still a tremendous asset for Opera. M2 was the first mail client, where it's comfortable to organise contacts and mail. When most people who are using other clients need to send a mail to someone, they usually open the huge Inbox, start looking there for an e-mail from that someone and click reply.:) The Bat, Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, they all suck in this regard. But in Opera all contacts are saved automatically when you write to them, you can add the contact by pressing "A" on the incoming message and the drop down suggestions for recipient address work almost flawlessly. And it's extremely easy to view all messages to/from any contact - doesn't take any effort at all.
That's not true IIRC. Your understanding of the indeterminancy principle is the older naive one. The reality is that an electron is truly everywhere at the same time. It's not just that we don't know where it is, it's that it truly is spread around thin.
Doesn't make sense. If you want Funny comments, define a +2 modifier for Funny posts in your user preferences. There is no need to abuse the moderation system.
Check out the forums at Emule Project. You will find threads where people discuss their sharing strategies, tell how often they check the status of the uploads, etc. Emule provides the facility for users to keep track of sharing and SOME users use it. That's why some people create and share "LIST OF DUPES" files, that's why people add comment to their shared files, etc. Furthermore, even though there aren't checked/unchecked folders, people do rename their files so that the name reflects the contents better. So when you download SpiderMan 3.avi on ed2k, you can check the alternative names and find out that it's a fake and guess what the real content is.
KaZaA and BitTorrent don't provide features for people to monitor their uploads, that's why people seem to care less.
There are some comments about a school buying hundreds of new computers without having enough teachers. I think it should be clear to everyone that computers per se can't do jack shit. Yes, computers are a wonderful tool, but until we develop working AI we need a human to use that tool.
As they come from the store, computers have word-processing, spreadsheet, IM, e-mail and the web. All this can be useful, but it doesn't improve quality of education. To do that you need good educational software (and not the crap that passes today for educational software) and teacher training.
It's really weird that so many seemingly intelligent people don't grok this and believe that computers are useful by themselves. Just add water and stir.
If you think about it, the question is stupid. Are books paper enhancement or literal distractions? Seriously, is it good to have books in the classroom? What about magazines? What about poetry books, sci-fi novels, dictionaries? The answer is - it all depends on the context. In a Classical literacture class the poetry book is ok, at the English exam the dictionary may be prohibited. A magazine is ok when you are making a report or studying something, but not when it's a Cosmo.
It all depends on what the student is doing with the computer and the professor should feel comfortable finding it out. When I was teaching and I saw the student read a book, I wouldn't do anything if that was a book on the subject. I would ignore it if it was lying on a desk closed, but would take it away (for the duration of the class) if it was a distraction.
I don't see how it's different with digital gadgets. Use your Palm or your laptop if you wish. One look at you is enough to see whether you are paying attention or not. If not, I'd ask you to stop, shut down the device, close it and listen to whas is happening around you.
When we are talking about the traditional teaching process, most of the activities are to some extent controlled by the teacher. I explain something, I give out tasks, I check the answers, I answer questions. Most of the time there is no legitimate reason for the student to use an electronic device. And when there is a reason, it's easy to keep an eye on the student.
Of course, it is conceivable that everyone needs to use a computer, and it becomes impossible to control who surfs the Net and who is doing the given task. But then it's not really different from normal work - there is a task and I can check the results.
And in those cases where plagiarism is a big risk, I just need to pay attention and specifically change the rules. I had 150 students pass the final test (financial management, project valuation - NPV) in computer labs, in groups of 10-15. They tried to cheat (copy-paste from prepared files, swap solution via network, send Excel solutions cell by cell by SMSes), but it's extremely easy to catch them (just look at them and pay attention) and the punishment was banishment. I would be pretty comfortable facing 20-40 students with laptops running 100% of the time, if the need arises. I just use my common sense.
If AOL haven't promised the quality, they should not be liable. When I advertise having a product it doesn't mean it must 100.0000% be available. Shit happens and if I did my best and nothing seriously bad happened why should I be responsible.
AOL is providing a service, they probably do not guarantee that "NOONE WILL CONTACT YOUR CHILD REGARDING SEX OR RELATIONSHIPS WHILE YOU ARE IN AN AOL CHAT ROOM". The guy wasn't a sexual predator and did his job well. He is not prohibited from initiating a friendship, so he did. Eventually the friendship flourished and developed into a (potentially) more adult relationship. And I don't think he used AOL chatrooms to suggest they have sex. There is really nothing wrong with what happened.
Look, sex is not rocket science. I am 25, I have well-paid jobs, I have excellent education, but I still can't get myself do my chores and "put away the toys". By your idealistic definition of responsible I am not responsible. I am defending my Ph.D. thesis the day after tomorrow and I haven't picked up the reviews, I still haven't rehearsed the speach and I also have to deliver a well-designed presentation to the client tomorrow morning that I will be putting off doing until midnight.
People are not responsible. Adults aren't, kids aren't, grandmas aren't responsible either. I fail to see how this is a valid reason to prevent a subset of irresponsible people from having sex.
There are many adult idiots who don't use a condom, because they can't be bothered to buy some, don't know how to put it on and foolishly believe that they can't catch an STD. They are not prohibited from having sex, so why are 12-year olds?
On the surface there appears to be some reasonable justification for age of consent laws as they are now. But if you dig deeper, they don't make any sense at all.
I'm surprised that this is so controversial, it seems plainly obvious to me. Are you copying fonts? Then you need a license. The GPL is one such license.
This is obvious. What isn't so obvious is whether the document is a derivative work. I'd say it isn't. If I write a Java program, that doesn't make it a derivative work based on the JVM, no matter whether I distribute it with or without said JVM. If I write a Visual Basic program, it doesn't become derivative work based on the runtime library, even if distribute them together.
It is wrong to claim that the document with embedded fonts is a derivative work based on the fonts. It is simply a container than contains my work and the fonts. Similarly to how I can pack my whole HDD to a.ZIP file and send it to you, without making all files GPLed, just because there was some GPL software there.
There is a very simple way to prevent such scenario. 1) Change the voting system in such a way that there should be sufficient quorum. If they can slip into it a rule that every law must be read by every MP before voting, that would be extra great. 2) Prohibit the police from arbitrarily detaining a person for 24 hours. Everyone benefits.
It's really simple - what's the bigger problem right now - that someone wants to jail all our MPs without due process or that they are allowed to drive recklessly and violate other minor (?) laws and regulations? I say that the first problem doesn't exist at all. So I am advocating just pushing the pendulum a little bit.
Faith by definition is a belief in something that can't be proved or truly understood.
Wrong definition. I may understand something very well, but it will be a subject of faith for someone else. E.g. I say "life evolved this way" and another person says "I don't understand anything. I believe that god created life in 6 days". There is no rational reason why such personal choice should be respected. IMO, it should not.
You don't need to violate the immunity. But if the police would at least be allowed to make some stink, that would help. You know, send the ticket to their office (i.e. the embassador or to the Congress), inform the press, etc. I don't think a parking ticket can really harm the MP that much.
And to think of it, do you seriously think that if the police had the right to enforce at least some modicum of order with those guys, that our democracy would be threatened? It doesn't make sense.
The idea of immunity is not challenged by anyone anymore, but it is horrendously elitist and antidemocratic. May be if the MPs had to live by the rules that are set to everyone, they would be motivated to keep an eye on law enforcement and judicial systems.
cattle whose only purpose is to feed the socialist political machine The socialist political machine are the people of the society. It's not like there are uber-powerful corporations like in the USA. The poorest 10% in the USA get $6,804 per capita share in GDP. The average GDP per capita is $37,800. In ALL European countries with the exception of Italy ($5,607) and Ireland ($5,920) the poorest 10% are richer than in the USA, despite having the GDP/capita that is about 70% of that in the US. Source.
Add to that better social security and other benefits of living in a welfare state, and you can easily see that people in Europe live better than Americans, with the exception of the rich guys. Yeah, it's easier to be filthy rich in the US than in Europe. I guess the European will have to somehow endure that.
The European governments are socialist because it's what the people wanted. The American government, on the other hand, now exists solely for itself, to perpetuate the political and economical status quo.
For the tinfoil crowd - don't look on this technology as the next step to total mind control. It's just a technological shift in transportation going on.
This is actually a minor development in the gradual transition from the individualistic horse-like cars to more social railway-like model. Cars used to be one of the American symbols of individual freedom - I drive where I want to and how I want to. This made sense in the beginning, when there were relatively few cars. Normal countries didn't have this penile-substitution menthality and now they have decent public transportation, which is better suited to moving people around, not boosting someone's ego. But the USA will have to change too. It is unlikely that people there will abandon their invididual "wagons", but they will still adapt more and more technology that will enforce traffic control. First it might be devices like these ones, then it can be automatic control for highways, then centralised computer control elsewhere (in cities). And then you will essentially have a urban light transport, only without the benefit of sharing cars. But by then a taxi-like company might be easily able to actually do the replacement.
We're not talking holograms here, it's just basically what you see on a cheezy 3D film just without the glasses.
Cheezy 3D film? It sounds like your last experience with 3D technology was somewhere in the mid-nineties. You know, when the first VR helmets with 320x200 displays appeared or something.
Have you seen a 3D film recently? If not, I suggest Polar Express at your nearest IMAX. That might provide you with some clue about how 3D can look.
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I don't use QuickLaunch, because it's an ugly hack that wastes valuable space. I use 3rd party hideable toolbar (Blanch) and a dedicated key on my multimedia keyboard for the calculator. And in any case, I can type Start+R, ca, Enter faster that you can click on a 16x16 pixel icon.
I also don't use XP GUI. In fact, I use Classic Win95 GUI on Windows 2000 Pro. Don't know what is cluttered there, looks pretty lean to me - better than OS X or most Linux environments.
As I already said, I already use Konfabulator and thus have experienced firsthand pretty much all Dashboard functionality. Yes, you can manage desktop layer and "Konspose" layer separately. This is not convenient. And in any case the idea of laying out tools that you might need visually on a desktop (even if that's a hideable layer) is impractical and foolishly user-unfriendly.
As you are already aware, there are countless ways to launch applications, including the QuickLaunch panel that you seem to be so fond of. Touting another way to access a calculator as a huge innovation is lame. Apple and Microsoft suck really bad.
The big problem is that Konfabulator/Dashboard/Sideshow combine a good idea of easy to write XML/JS-based applets with a bad idea of forcing a particular access method on everyone.
This applies primarily to interactive widgets. Why are the users forced to place them in that hideable layer and use F12 to bring them? Why aren't they allowed to use hierarchical menues, icons, toolbars, mouse gestures, custom hotkeys, etc. to activate these widgets?
This is Apple forcing the inadequate desktop metaphore on users. It's as if we were prohibited from using desk drawers in real world - use all tools that you want (pens, pencils, scissors, etc.), but only as long as you can fit them on your desk.
The proposed model may work for people who only need access to a few widgets, but that means the potential of Dashboard is not realised.
Fuck you, moron. I have had Konfabulator installed for 6 months already. Don't give me that "on demand" shit, because I know it. Konfabulator/Dashboard is only useful for display widgets, such as calendars, reminders, etc. It's idiotic to add a calculator (or anything else interactive) there, because there are already better ways to access it (though arguably not as pretty).
On my computer I can start the calculator using ONE key - the custom key on my multimedia keyboard. I was just making the point that there is no compelling need to make starting of the calculator application somehow faster (except for clueless newbies).
Who says it doesn't scale? And more importantly -- why should it? Do we need scalable calculators?
Are you really that stupid? If Dashboard is simply an uber-technology to add fancy clocks and weather widgets to desktop (or the hidden "on demand" layer, if you wish), that's fine with me, but don't tout it as a great usability feature that would change the way we use computers. And if it is going to live up to the hype, then it should be possible to have at least 10-20 different tools for it to have the impact.
It seems nobody really made the effort to actually read what I wrote. May be I should have made myself clearer. As a matter of fact, I have used Konfabulator (which Apple copied almost verbatim for Dashboard) for half a year already. The problem is real - you are supposed to replace icons and menus (that can efficiently give access to a huge variety of tools) with a limited number of tools that you can fit on a 1024x768 screen.
As I said, this creates an obvious problem. You either clutter your desktop (or a "secondary layer") with useless shit or you don't have access to the rare tool that you might need once every 2 months. Either way you loose.
Dashboard approach can be useful for a limited number of functions - clocks, calendars, reminders, weather and news tickers. That's it. Check the widget galleries - there is almost nothing beyond these 5 categories.
Adding interactive widgets to this creates a huge mess. Using a hideable toolbar with tabs (Blanch for Windows) I can already access any accessory I need using two clicks. Dashboard is useless eye-candy. Shame on Apple and Microsoft for pretending (for marketing reasons) it's something more.
Dashboard is a stupid technology, it doesn't scale. You have to preselect the widgets that you need and that is idiotic. Another idiotic thing is that Dashboard combines both interactive widgets (translation, calculator, etc.) and passive information output widgets (weather, time, CPU utilization, etc.). This means that I have to clutter my desktop with useless shit (interactive widgets). It would make much more sense to simply run an application (using one of the million existing ways to start it) when I need it. To start a calculator I can already do Start+R, calc, Enter. No reason to place it on the desktop using Dashboard.
And this is what these companies call innovation? Utter incompetence in action.
Opera M2 mail client is the application that probably inspired Gmail. M2 has indexing, flat hierarchy with smart folders, database-based storage and pretty much everything Gmail has and more. It also stores everything on your computer.
No, he isn't basically right. Your original comment was correct, and your "when does 'learning' become 'IP theft'?" is very insightful.
To even think about protecting professors' lectures by IP laws is sick beyond belief. It is horrible that there are people in the world for whom it's not morally repugnant.
Mail: If you get used to the Opera mail client, there is no turning back. I handle rather insane amounts of mail, and I never spend time organizing my mail. Opera does that already.
:) The Bat, Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, they all suck in this regard. But in Opera all contacts are saved automatically when you write to them, you can add the contact by pressing "A" on the incoming message and the drop down suggestions for recipient address work almost flawlessly. And it's extremely easy to view all messages to/from any contact - doesn't take any effort at all.
That's so true. I don't have insane amounts of mail right now, but M2 is still a tremendous asset for Opera. M2 was the first mail client, where it's comfortable to organise contacts and mail. When most people who are using other clients need to send a mail to someone, they usually open the huge Inbox, start looking there for an e-mail from that someone and click reply.
It's disclosure, not disclamer. It would have been a disclaimer if you said: "I haven't used A9 ever and I am not even sure I know what it is"
That's not true IIRC. Your understanding of the indeterminancy principle is the older naive one. The reality is that an electron is truly everywhere at the same time. It's not just that we don't know where it is, it's that it truly is spread around thin.
Doesn't make sense. If you want Funny comments, define a +2 modifier for Funny posts in your user preferences. There is no need to abuse the moderation system.
Seriously, if you want to use the technology, start development and then start the renegotiation process to make exemptions for nuclear propulsion.
Check out the forums at Emule Project. You will find threads where people discuss their sharing strategies, tell how often they check the status of the uploads, etc. Emule provides the facility for users to keep track of sharing and SOME users use it. That's why some people create and share "LIST OF DUPES" files, that's why people add comment to their shared files, etc. Furthermore, even though there aren't checked/unchecked folders, people do rename their files so that the name reflects the contents better. So when you download SpiderMan 3.avi on ed2k, you can check the alternative names and find out that it's a fake and guess what the real content is.
KaZaA and BitTorrent don't provide features for people to monitor their uploads, that's why people seem to care less.
There are some comments about a school buying hundreds of new computers without having enough teachers. I think it should be clear to everyone that computers per se can't do jack shit. Yes, computers are a wonderful tool, but until we develop working AI we need a human to use that tool.
As they come from the store, computers have word-processing, spreadsheet, IM, e-mail and the web. All this can be useful, but it doesn't improve quality of education. To do that you need good educational software (and not the crap that passes today for educational software) and teacher training.
It's really weird that so many seemingly intelligent people don't grok this and believe that computers are useful by themselves. Just add water and stir.
If you think about it, the question is stupid. Are books paper enhancement or literal distractions? Seriously, is it good to have books in the classroom? What about magazines? What about poetry books, sci-fi novels, dictionaries? The answer is - it all depends on the context. In a Classical literacture class the poetry book is ok, at the English exam the dictionary may be prohibited. A magazine is ok when you are making a report or studying something, but not when it's a Cosmo.
It all depends on what the student is doing with the computer and the professor should feel comfortable finding it out. When I was teaching and I saw the student read a book, I wouldn't do anything if that was a book on the subject. I would ignore it if it was lying on a desk closed, but would take it away (for the duration of the class) if it was a distraction.
I don't see how it's different with digital gadgets. Use your Palm or your laptop if you wish. One look at you is enough to see whether you are paying attention or not. If not, I'd ask you to stop, shut down the device, close it and listen to whas is happening around you.
When we are talking about the traditional teaching process, most of the activities are to some extent controlled by the teacher. I explain something, I give out tasks, I check the answers, I answer questions. Most of the time there is no legitimate reason for the student to use an electronic device. And when there is a reason, it's easy to keep an eye on the student.
Of course, it is conceivable that everyone needs to use a computer, and it becomes impossible to control who surfs the Net and who is doing the given task. But then it's not really different from normal work - there is a task and I can check the results.
And in those cases where plagiarism is a big risk, I just need to pay attention and specifically change the rules. I had 150 students pass the final test (financial management, project valuation - NPV) in computer labs, in groups of 10-15. They tried to cheat (copy-paste from prepared files, swap solution via network, send Excel solutions cell by cell by SMSes), but it's extremely easy to catch them (just look at them and pay attention) and the punishment was banishment. I would be pretty comfortable facing 20-40 students with laptops running 100% of the time, if the need arises. I just use my common sense.
If AOL haven't promised the quality, they should not be liable. When I advertise having a product it doesn't mean it must 100.0000% be available. Shit happens and if I did my best and nothing seriously bad happened why should I be responsible.
AOL is providing a service, they probably do not guarantee that "NOONE WILL CONTACT YOUR CHILD REGARDING SEX OR RELATIONSHIPS WHILE YOU ARE IN AN AOL CHAT ROOM". The guy wasn't a sexual predator and did his job well. He is not prohibited from initiating a friendship, so he did. Eventually the friendship flourished and developed into a (potentially) more adult relationship. And I don't think he used AOL chatrooms to suggest they have sex. There is really nothing wrong with what happened.
Look, sex is not rocket science. I am 25, I have well-paid jobs, I have excellent education, but I still can't get myself do my chores and "put away the toys". By your idealistic definition of responsible I am not responsible. I am defending my Ph.D. thesis the day after tomorrow and I haven't picked up the reviews, I still haven't rehearsed the speach and I also have to deliver a well-designed presentation to the client tomorrow morning that I will be putting off doing until midnight.
People are not responsible. Adults aren't, kids aren't, grandmas aren't responsible either. I fail to see how this is a valid reason to prevent a subset of irresponsible people from having sex.
There are many adult idiots who don't use a condom, because they can't be bothered to buy some, don't know how to put it on and foolishly believe that they can't catch an STD. They are not prohibited from having sex, so why are 12-year olds?
On the surface there appears to be some reasonable justification for age of consent laws as they are now. But if you dig deeper, they don't make any sense at all.
I'm surprised that this is so controversial, it seems plainly obvious to me. Are you copying fonts? Then you need a license. The GPL is one such license.
.ZIP file and send it to you, without making all files GPLed, just because there was some GPL software there.
This is obvious. What isn't so obvious is whether the document is a derivative work. I'd say it isn't. If I write a Java program, that doesn't make it a derivative work based on the JVM, no matter whether I distribute it with or without said JVM. If I write a Visual Basic program, it doesn't become derivative work based on the runtime library, even if distribute them together.
It is wrong to claim that the document with embedded fonts is a derivative work based on the fonts. It is simply a container than contains my work and the fonts. Similarly to how I can pack my whole HDD to a
There is a very simple way to prevent such scenario.
1) Change the voting system in such a way that there should be sufficient quorum. If they can slip into it a rule that every law must be read by every MP before voting, that would be extra great.
2) Prohibit the police from arbitrarily detaining a person for 24 hours. Everyone benefits.
It's really simple - what's the bigger problem right now - that someone wants to jail all our MPs without due process or that they are allowed to drive recklessly and violate other minor (?) laws and regulations? I say that the first problem doesn't exist at all. So I am advocating just pushing the pendulum a little bit.
Faith by definition is a belief in something that can't be proved or truly understood.
Wrong definition. I may understand something very well, but it will be a subject of faith for someone else. E.g. I say "life evolved this way" and another person says "I don't understand anything. I believe that god created life in 6 days". There is no rational reason why such personal choice should be respected. IMO, it should not.
You don't need to violate the immunity. But if the police would at least be allowed to make some stink, that would help. You know, send the ticket to their office (i.e. the embassador or to the Congress), inform the press, etc. I don't think a parking ticket can really harm the MP that much.
And to think of it, do you seriously think that if the police had the right to enforce at least some modicum of order with those guys, that our democracy would be threatened? It doesn't make sense.
The idea of immunity is not challenged by anyone anymore, but it is horrendously elitist and antidemocratic. May be if the MPs had to live by the rules that are set to everyone, they would be motivated to keep an eye on law enforcement and judicial systems.
cattle whose only purpose is to feed the socialist political machine
The socialist political machine are the people of the society. It's not like there are uber-powerful corporations like in the USA. The poorest 10% in the USA get $6,804 per capita share in GDP. The average GDP per capita is $37,800. In ALL European countries with the exception of Italy ($5,607) and Ireland ($5,920) the poorest 10% are richer than in the USA, despite having the GDP/capita that is about 70% of that in the US. Source.
Add to that better social security and other benefits of living in a welfare state, and you can easily see that people in Europe live better than Americans, with the exception of the rich guys. Yeah, it's easier to be filthy rich in the US than in Europe. I guess the European will have to somehow endure that.
The European governments are socialist because it's what the people wanted. The American government, on the other hand, now exists solely for itself, to perpetuate the political and economical status quo.
For the tinfoil crowd - don't look on this technology as the next step to total mind control. It's just a technological shift in transportation going on.
This is actually a minor development in the gradual transition from the individualistic horse-like cars to more social railway-like model. Cars used to be one of the American symbols of individual freedom - I drive where I want to and how I want to. This made sense in the beginning, when there were relatively few cars. Normal countries didn't have this penile-substitution menthality and now they have decent public transportation, which is better suited to moving people around, not boosting someone's ego. But the USA will have to change too. It is unlikely that people there will abandon their invididual "wagons", but they will still adapt more and more technology that will enforce traffic control. First it might be devices like these ones, then it can be automatic control for highways, then centralised computer control elsewhere (in cities). And then you will essentially have a urban light transport, only without the benefit of sharing cars. But by then a taxi-like company might be easily able to actually do the replacement.
We're not talking holograms here, it's just basically what you see on a cheezy 3D film just without the glasses.
Cheezy 3D film? It sounds like your last experience with 3D technology was somewhere in the mid-nineties. You know, when the first VR helmets with 320x200 displays appeared or something.
Have you seen a 3D film recently? If not, I suggest Polar Express at your nearest IMAX. That might provide you with some clue about how 3D can look.
You can already have it: rocking 3D porn, no glasses required.