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  1. You just argued against yourself on Reason: How To Break the Internet (in a Bad Way) · · Score: 1

    A libertarian will argue the government created these monopolies in the 1st place.

    Sounds like you were busy proving the grand-parents point, and without any trace of irony.

  2. Re:Reason: for corporations, by corporations on Reason: How To Break the Internet (in a Bad Way) · · Score: 1

    Those lazy people with their army of lawyers and capital hill lobbyists, writing laws to enrich themselves...

  3. Re:Reason: for corporations, by corporations on Reason: How To Break the Internet (in a Bad Way) · · Score: 1

    The way to do that is to nationalise natural monopolies (say the internet pipes), and privatize the rest (say, selling bandwidth to customers). The people who bankroll much of the libertarian movement have a conflict of interest when it comes to monopolies, which is why we never have this important conversation. Interesting how libertarians are so credulous to crony capitalist talking points.

  4. Re:Systemic and widespread? on The Courage of Bystanders Who Press "Record" · · Score: 1

    Most problems happen because people have different interpretations of events as they unfold. The "bad cop" really isn't the specific problem. (They may, for example, tamper with the camera, or turn it off before doing something illegal.) The thing is that the video feed gives a strong defense against false complaints, and also ensures that cops who get to "crazy" will get their asses handed to them in court. Everyone responds to incentives, and the camera is an incentive for everyone to be on their best behaviour.

  5. Re:Systemic and widespread? on The Courage of Bystanders Who Press "Record" · · Score: 1

    The fundamental problem is "who watches the watchers?". The courts, apparently, yet bring charges against the police is nigh on impossible. Reforming the law could easily put good cops in more dangerous positions. Yet we know there is a problem, because, according FBI/Police internal investigations, police never make mistakes: the officer is always exonerated. Internal affairs has every incentive to do this. And people respond to incentives, ya know? But suddenly with the appearance of body cameras, people report far less harassment from police. Perhaps the cameras put people on good behaviour, or perhaps the police are behave better, or probably both. But the fact that charges against police _increase_ leaves a clue that something was rotten. I'm all for cameras if people behave better around them.

  6. Re:c'mon on Al Franken Urges FBI To Prosecute "Revenge Porn" · · Score: 1

    I think Sommers would still say that women's issues still need to be advanced. She does disagree strongly without mainstream feminists see and approach the issue. (And frankly so do I.) Sommers says specifically that if you are an equality feminists you are probably more tempted to see the glass as half-full, and say "wow, look how much equality we have already established -- now lets see if we can improve". In essence, this involves removing victimologies from feminism, although I do not think that Sommers uses that term.

  7. Re:c'mon on Al Franken Urges FBI To Prosecute "Revenge Porn" · · Score: 1

    In theory you could be correct, but in the real world we find people being victimized because of the specific groups they belong to. This ranges from abject coarseness to subtle but still rather potent. I agree that the law should be written to protect everyone equally, and more attention should be paid to that, but the inspiration to get laws passed can still involve specific groups with specific grievances.

  8. Re:If no deal, then Iran *will* get nukes on Why the Framework Nuclear Agreement With Iran Is Good For Both Sides · · Score: 1

    Trust, but verify. Actually, there's no trust in this deal. They nuclear facilities will be live-feed monitored, and machinery with tamper-proof censors. The inspectors also get to go wherever they want. I'm interested to see just how the GOP handles this, because the smart ones must know how badly the USA will be hurt if they fsck it i up. So really, it will be a matter of chest-thumping just load enough to scare a few people, and keep the true-believers hopping mad until the next issue comes up.

  9. Re:Isreal on Why the Framework Nuclear Agreement With Iran Is Good For Both Sides · · Score: 1

    You do know that the country went through a revolution, right? Ain't sovereignty a bitch. Talk about a know-nothing.

  10. Re:MS is still hostile to open formats on UK Forces Microsoft To Adopt Open Document Standards · · Score: 1

    I doubt it is trivial to add EXT2/3/4 support to the windows stack. Consider that ZFS has barely moved in linux space, even though it is fully BSD compatible, opensource, and awesome. Apparently it makes more sense to develop BTRFS.

  11. Re:My God! on UK Forces Microsoft To Adopt Open Document Standards · · Score: 1

    Should you uninstall all dlls that explorer uses? What about the C runtime?

  12. Re:Woop Di Do Da! on California Has Become the First State To Get Over 5% of Its Power From Solar · · Score: 1

    It's enough that, had I the money to put solar on the roof (and if it was economically feasible - I have a small house), I wouldn't do it because I like the trees and don't want to remove them.

    Oh I'm sure a free market will spring up to serve your needs in the future -- and people you identify with. If the trees have value -- which they do -- then some entrepreneur will figure out how to serve you. You should really be concerned with the average cost of energy, which everyone pays, regardless of the economic system. If the average cost is low, then the economy can only be good.

    There are technological solutions to these types of issues, and some parts of the world are trying to develop the know-how. What we know about solar/wind, combined with long-standing trends, is that it is coming down in price fast. But moving to a new grid has inbuilt challenges, and some of the smartest people in the world are trying to figure out how to make the inevitable transition.

  13. Re:Woop Di Do Da! on California Has Become the First State To Get Over 5% of Its Power From Solar · · Score: 1

    Sovereignty is a bitch.

  14. Re:Investment Tax Credit on California Has Become the First State To Get Over 5% of Its Power From Solar · · Score: 1

    Good. Once it's gone, maybe we'll all be rich enough to buy solar panels.

    I think you mean "Once it's gone, maybe solar will be so cheap that we won't want anything else".

    After-all, the pre-subsidy price is just poking around the cost of coal power. Fossil fuel power is only projected to rise ever so slightly in the future. But Solar/Wind tech is early days, and the costs have been coming down very quickly, for a long time, and there is no reason to expect them to stop. The fossil fuel industry is in the initial stages of trying to write their business model into US law -- before the free market forces them to think up new ways of making money. Nobody wants to do that.

  15. Re:Social scientists on Experts: Aim of 2 Degrees Climate Goal Insufficient · · Score: 1

    Finally something we can agree on. Conservatives need to come to the table with solutions, in order to fight this type of nonsense. The current intransigent denial of the evidence cedes the political debate on what to do to another set of fringe lunatics.

  16. Re:Let's see on Experts: Aim of 2 Degrees Climate Goal Insufficient · · Score: 0

    There can only be one explanation for a phenomenon, and it can never have anything to do with climate change. So obviously sea level rise has nothing to do with it. Because, LIBERALS!

  17. Re:Let's see on Experts: Aim of 2 Degrees Climate Goal Insufficient · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Some environmentalists will blame anything they can on AGW. That doesn't mean that the science itself is wrong, and that it isn't a pressing problem. It just means that there are partisan hacks (people just like you) on the opposite side of the issue to you. They are stupid. So what.

  18. Re:Let's see on Experts: Aim of 2 Degrees Climate Goal Insufficient · · Score: 2

    If you judge the science by the ramblings of fringe lunatics, then you're bound to misunderstand the science. There is no credible prediction (established science) that says any of the things you've suggested. Not even remotely close. If you're interested it learning something, then you will need to stop reading the blogs that make you feel warm righteous indignation, and open your mind.

  19. Re:Complete article on Experts: Aim of 2 Degrees Climate Goal Insufficient · · Score: 2
  20. Re:Meanwhile... on In Historic Turn, CO2 Emissions Flatline In 2014, Even As Global Economy Grows · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't be so pessimistic -- we have the technological know-how to fix this problem, or at least, we are pretty close, and the right things are in the pipeline, to become mature when we need them. The article is alluding to this fact. The problem with AGW is political will, and bloody mindedness from the "truther" crowd.

  21. Re:No Clinton No Bush on Clinton's Private Email System Gets a Security "F" Rating · · Score: 0

    That would make it their own fault then. A power broker has no power if nobody listens.

    Yeah, I believe in personal responsibility devoid of social realities as well.

  22. Not understanding the world on House Republicans Roll Out Legislation To Overturn New Net Neutrality Rules · · Score: 1

    All economists know about these things called natural monopolies. It is widely recognized that regulation is necessary in natural monopolies because of the power differential which makes monopolies what they are. Many other countries deliver cheaper better internet for less over very spare countries. Whenever you have barries to entry you have to do a cost-benefit analysis. At a certain point the cost of regulations is less for everyone. It is not a black and white issue. If you think it is, then you are living in a comfortable "truth", and not trying to understand the world.

  23. Re:Lift the gag order first... on House Republicans Roll Out Legislation To Overturn New Net Neutrality Rules · · Score: 1

    I've never met a bureaucrat yet that didn't like a few more dollars of taxes collected.

    Obviously you have never met many bureaucrats, and know nothing about government work. For a starts, they don't raise the taxes themselves. For seconds, they follow the rules given to them. But in your mind, it is all waste, waste, waste, and you know nothing about it.

  24. Re:Lift the gag order first... on House Republicans Roll Out Legislation To Overturn New Net Neutrality Rules · · Score: 1

    Yep, the crony capitalists play the GOP base for chumps.

  25. on *average* on Study: Refactoring Doesn't Improve Code Quality · · Score: 1

    The title is dying for "ON AVERAGE" on the end. The framing strongly suggests that it is a simple issue.