All law is (as you say) by the consent of the people. We and many other nations went through this revelation in the mid 18th Century - that your nation was founded on that basis was simply a reflection of the Age of Enlightenment and represents no special status for the USA. Even communism fundamentally rests on that principle because there is no other - and in most places it was eventually overthrown by the will of the people.
Now move on a bit from the childish position of "I'll do what I want until someone physically stops me". Your leaders (because you are a republic not a democracy and so do not need your consent for each and every action) have signed treaty obligations with other nations. How is this in any way different to the laws your leaders sign through in Congress or Senate? Your govt can renege treaties in just the same way as you can indivudally defy your laws. But do not believe you can do so with no consequence. You may have a lot of might but we can still fuck you if we have to. (We might fuck ourselves in the process, but many nations have far less to lose.)
Frankly your nation has about 200 years of growing up to truly join the civilised nations of this world.
Of course not... You'd much rather spend 15Xs more money on it, and have it fail after 731 days after you bought it and have no recourse.
Where do you get the idea we pay 15x??? I can buy a DVD player for 40 over here (and not in the post-xmas sales) which comes with its statutary warranty. Taking into account the usual differential that is $60 max. What we lack over your Fry's is the volume of sales - none of this warranty bullshit.
Sorry dude but we're civilised people over here in Ol' Europe and we don't like being ripped off or discovering we've bought a POS which dies 91 days after we bought it and have no recourse. You may like the Wild West attitude of 'every man for himself' - fine, no skin off my nose - we don't ok.
Noone forced this down our throats. We forced it down the throats of the rip-off manufacturers and retailers. They did not like it at all. We did. This happened in Britain long before the EU even existed - and (amazingly) was introduced by a right-wing govt before you rant about us pinko liberals.
Contrary to what you might think the market is not god and there are more rational ways to run a society than the mob rule of the market (or as more usually happens corporate rule...).
Bit rich whingeing about China not playing by the rules. The USA is one of the grossest violators of all of world trade agreements. When the steel tariff was in place against Europe you boys all believed there is no higher law than Congress. Convenient that.
Shame you haven't read No Logo as the OP suggested. Most of the Chinese Labor Laws are suspended within the Export Protection Zones (which is where most of this manufacturing actually resides).
Face facts - your comfort exists solely on the basis of slave labor elsewhere - don't try to justify it as valid economics. We're talking ethics. They don't mix.
Sorry - you're the tool. Pinochet was heavily propped up by the US - the generals were killing commies remember and the US likes to back that sort of thing. The House of Saud would not be in power without American support in the region.
Over the last 50 years, you'll find either the USA or the USSR behind most dictators. Well, the USSR has gone so the USA can no longer pretend its actions are there to fight communism. More and more we see that it is there to protect its own corporate interests and damn the rest of the world.
What we learned last spring is that the Government of the United States is convinced that it must keep the people of this nation ignorant and slothful so that they can lead the only pleasant life while the rest of the world marches towards nuclear Armageddon.
What I have learned over the last few years is that too many Americans believe they have a right to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" regardless of of whether this deprives others in the world of their "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". We are fast becoming global tyrants in the name of preserving our own freedom and "pleasant life". For every liberation of a tryannised population from a petty despot like Saddam there are many more populations slaving away producing raw resources (gold, oil, etc) and goods (Nike and the EPZs) for cheap consumption by the new Romans.
To those who would take this the wrong way: No, I do not necessarily advocate serving alcoholic beverages to minors.
Well I, for one, do. What is your hang up with alcohol, America? Here in Britain the legal age for drinking is 18, but you can also drink with your parents in a pub from 16 onwards.
My parents (who are very conservative) fed us small amounts of wine and beer at Christmas and birthdays in the belief that exposing us to it from an early age would teach us how to handle the booze. The first time I got seriously pissed was at the school disco when I was not quite 16.
Saving all that up til you're 21 sounds like a recipe for disaster!
Whenever I've visited the US I've always been amazed by the level of phobia about alcohol. And I could not believe that I was asked for proof of age (carded you call it) when I had grey hair - and the hassle of persuading them that a British passport was valid proof of age.
The descent of Iraq since the 70's are more a factor of oil economics that the evilness of the US.
Shame you don't seem to understand what you are saying. Oil economics are driven by America's determination to drink the world dry of oil at the lowest prices. Over on 4 tons of plants per mile... you'll find plenty of your fellow Americans (and as/.ers presumably the better educated ones) protesting loudly that 20mpg is good and that you can have their SUVs over their cold dead bodies.
You also fail to appreciate that Saudi Arabia is almost but not quite as despotic as Iraq was, but the Saudis suck up to America while Iraq had the gall to try to go its own way. The Saudis have more than their fair share of grand public works and palaces as well.
These 'oil economics' that you blame are not impartial forces of nature, but, sadly, are driven by the petty evils of American greed.
I'm afraid it is you who needs to do some reading - and less partisan reading next time.
Just wondering, is anything worded or spelled differently in the British ones?
Yes, the British textbooks use a language called English and (modulo the author's ability) demonstrate correct spelling and grammar. You won't find words like 'color' or 'gray'.
I'm sorry but this has nothing to do with capitalism. I know that for some of you capitalism == free market but they are quite separable concepts. Capitalism is to do with capital, the integral of money (i.e., the derivative of capital is money originally in the form of a dividend). What you are seeing here is the triumph of an international free market.
It might help if some of you lot had actually read Marx rather than ranting on about "oh this would never have happened with communism". The founder of communism had quite a lot to say about this. "Das Capital" is still the root of much modern economic theory.
Much as I don't normally agree with Tim;-), there is an important point here that everyone seems determined to ignore and that is the quality of support available. If you're an Open Source outsider looking to use OSS as an alternative to big boys like Accenture (who are truly corrupt - forget M$) you need some confidence that:
You've found the right OSS product to start from
It does all the things you need it to do
You can train your staff to use it
If it goes wrong someone can fix it or help work around the problem
As your requirements change you can track them
The salesmen and the product brochures are a shorthand for much of this. And slowly but surely companies are growing up whose raison d'etre is to champion OS products, sell them to clients, support them and make any mods required.
Indeed OS is a dream ticket for traditional small consultancies - all that software written by others that you can sell services around. And when it doesn't work just open up the source files and fix. No need to beg BigCo for access on behalf of your client.
There are several such companies around Cambridge with mixed success (including my own).
And if the salesmen turn up in Armani suits driving a Jaguar then they're probably rip-off merchants taking too much money from their clients just like with any non-OSS product.
Thankfully over here in the UK these kind of contracts are not worth the paper they're printed on. There is a vast amount of legislation determining what a fair contract is and protecting the rights of all involved.
I would have thought that Canada formerly of the British Commonwealth would have had similar legislation - most of this is C19
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All law is (as you say) by the consent of the people. We and many other nations went through this revelation in the mid 18th Century - that your nation was founded on that basis was simply a reflection of the Age of Enlightenment and represents no special status for the USA. Even communism fundamentally rests on that principle because there is no other - and in most places it was eventually overthrown by the will of the people.
Now move on a bit from the childish position of "I'll do what I want until someone physically stops me". Your leaders (because you are a republic not a democracy and so do not need your consent for each and every action) have signed treaty obligations with other nations. How is this in any way different to the laws your leaders sign through in Congress or Senate? Your govt can renege treaties in just the same way as you can indivudally defy your laws. But do not believe you can do so with no consequence. You may have a lot of might but we can still fuck you if we have to. (We might fuck ourselves in the process, but many nations have far less to lose.)
Frankly your nation has about 200 years of growing up to truly join the civilised nations of this world.
Of course not... You'd much rather spend 15Xs more money on it, and have it fail after 731 days after you bought it and have no recourse. Where do you get the idea we pay 15x??? I can buy a DVD player for 40 over here (and not in the post-xmas sales) which comes with its statutary warranty. Taking into account the usual differential that is $60 max. What we lack over your Fry's is the volume of sales - none of this warranty bullshit.
Fortunately many of your countryman have more humble views and are prepared to respect international law as well as try to impose it on others.
My sincere apologies! Somehow I thought you were saying the opposite... (must stop jumping to conclusions).
Noone forced this down our throats. We forced it down the throats of the rip-off manufacturers and retailers. They did not like it at all. We did. This happened in Britain long before the EU even existed - and (amazingly) was introduced by a right-wing govt before you rant about us pinko liberals.
Contrary to what you might think the market is not god and there are more rational ways to run a society than the mob rule of the market (or as more usually happens corporate rule...).
Bit rich whingeing about China not playing by the rules. The USA is one of the grossest violators of all of world trade agreements. When the steel tariff was in place against Europe you boys all believed there is no higher law than Congress. Convenient that.
Face facts - your comfort exists solely on the basis of slave labor elsewhere - don't try to justify it as valid economics. We're talking ethics. They don't mix.
Over the last 50 years, you'll find either the USA or the USSR behind most dictators. Well, the USSR has gone so the USA can no longer pretend its actions are there to fight communism. More and more we see that it is there to protect its own corporate interests and damn the rest of the world.
What we learned last spring is that the Government of the United States is convinced that it must keep the people of this nation ignorant and slothful so that they can lead the only pleasant life while the rest of the world marches towards nuclear Armageddon.
What I have learned over the last few years is that too many Americans believe they have a right to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" regardless of of whether this deprives others in the world of their "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". We are fast becoming global tyrants in the name of preserving our own freedom and "pleasant life". For every liberation of a tryannised population from a petty despot like Saddam there are many more populations slaving away producing raw resources (gold, oil, etc) and goods (Nike and the EPZs) for cheap consumption by the new Romans.
To those who would take this the wrong way: No, I do not necessarily advocate serving alcoholic beverages to minors. Well I, for one, do. What is your hang up with alcohol, America? Here in Britain the legal age for drinking is 18, but you can also drink with your parents in a pub from 16 onwards. My parents (who are very conservative) fed us small amounts of wine and beer at Christmas and birthdays in the belief that exposing us to it from an early age would teach us how to handle the booze. The first time I got seriously pissed was at the school disco when I was not quite 16. Saving all that up til you're 21 sounds like a recipe for disaster! Whenever I've visited the US I've always been amazed by the level of phobia about alcohol. And I could not believe that I was asked for proof of age (carded you call it) when I had grey hair - and the hassle of persuading them that a British passport was valid proof of age.
You also fail to appreciate that Saudi Arabia is almost but not quite as despotic as Iraq was, but the Saudis suck up to America while Iraq had the gall to try to go its own way. The Saudis have more than their fair share of grand public works and palaces as well.
These 'oil economics' that you blame are not impartial forces of nature, but, sadly, are driven by the petty evils of American greed.
I'm afraid it is you who needs to do some reading - and less partisan reading next time.
I'm sorry but this has nothing to do with capitalism. I know that for some of you capitalism == free market but they are quite separable concepts. Capitalism is to do with capital, the integral of money (i.e., the derivative of capital is money originally in the form of a dividend). What you are seeing here is the triumph of an international free market. It might help if some of you lot had actually read Marx rather than ranting on about "oh this would never have happened with communism". The founder of communism had quite a lot to say about this. "Das Capital" is still the root of much modern economic theory.
- You've found the right OSS product to start from
- It does all the things you need it to do
- You can train your staff to use it
- If it goes wrong someone can fix it or help work around the problem
- As your requirements change you can track them
The salesmen and the product brochures are a shorthand for much of this. And slowly but surely companies are growing up whose raison d'etre is to champion OS products, sell them to clients, support them and make any mods required.Indeed OS is a dream ticket for traditional small consultancies - all that software written by others that you can sell services around. And when it doesn't work just open up the source files and fix. No need to beg BigCo for access on behalf of your client.
There are several such companies around Cambridge with mixed success (including my own).
And if the salesmen turn up in Armani suits driving a Jaguar then they're probably rip-off merchants taking too much money from their clients just like with any non-OSS product.
Um, Montreal is in Canada not USA. See my comments above about the (non-)legality of such contracts over in the UK.
Thankfully over here in the UK these kind of contracts are not worth the paper they're printed on. There is a vast amount of legislation determining what a fair contract is and protecting the rights of all involved. I would have thought that Canada formerly of the British Commonwealth would have had similar legislation - most of this is C19