There aren't many (any?) examples of permanent, stable societies.
There are no examples of a human being living forever. Therefore there's no point in worrying about public health, medicine, crime, war, education, science, culture, disease or anything else as we're all going to die in the end.
What does "making a difference" mean anyway? Pol Pot made a difference.
What exactly does "freedom" mean when you're talking about education? The freedom of a child not to be told what to do? The freedom of a parent to insist their precious snowflake is only allowed to read stories about Baby Jesus? The overall increase in freedom resulting from an intelligent, educated population?
The Pol Pot comment is simply risible in its attempt to yoke genocide alongside any form of government. I suppose you'd have used Hitler instead, except that (a) Godwin's law is too well known and (b) you secretly admire him.
The only safe choice is to very strictly limit government power, so when unworthy people get elected, they can't hurt anyone.
That is a fucking stupid argument when it is a government who will, for example, launch the nuclear weapons that start WW3.
I know libertarians think that if you shrink government enough it will disappear, but by that stage you'll just have mega-corporations running things instead, without even the smallest democratic control over what they do.
Parents are free influence their children all they like, that's why home schooling is allowed.
Only in the US where the freedoms of the rich, religious and rightwing to do as they like trump the right of a child to a normal life.
Here in the UK, home schooling is theoretically possible, but almost never happens except in cases of severely medically challenged, behaviourally extreme or mentally ill children, as far as I know.
Parents do not have the freedom to fuck up their kids lives. Or, rather, they shouldn't.
Part of the job of schools should most certainly be the correction of blatant idiocies and lies forced on kids by their inadequate, religiously-blinded, politically-obsessed parents.
Advertising, at its worst, distorts consumer behavior and causes unearned cashflow. This unearned cashflow causes corporations to focus their product development on features that advertise well even if they do not result in genuine customer satisfaction, resulting in a net drag on the economy.
All advertising is about persuading people to buy things they do not need or even particularly want. If it's not distorting consumer behaviour, it's not doing anything at all, is it?
The idea that you can split up "good" and "bad" advertising is just absurd..
Even if slashdot paid nothing for its bandwidth and managed to run on equipment supplied by and maintained by volunteers, it would then just be a hobby site, not a business. I don't think that's a bad thing, I just want to point out that you're then talking about something completely different than economics.
With the growth of new manufacturing technology, such as small scale CNC lathes, 3D printers and cheap/free 3D software (e.g. Google Sketchup), the means of small scale production are becoming cheap enough for anyone industrious. It's a second industrial revolution. One where you don't have the service of a local factory telling you things they'll pay you to do, but you get to control production.
I think you're being over-optimistic. There is a reason that we have huge factories producing things. Not everything can be done in your garage.
The increased productivity from a modern economy means a smaller and smaller percentage of your productivity (roughly, time spent working) is devoting to actually making things that are necessary for life like food, housing, transportation. A larger percentage can be spent on doing optional things like eating out, going on vacations, etc.
John Maynarde Keynes said something similar in 1930. It appeared to be true up until the 1960/70s, but since then working hours have not decreased any further, and in fact most people probably work more now than they did in the 1970s.
America cannot be viable long term on a service-based economy.
Why not? There is only so much I need in terms of physical goods. As I make more money, that becomes a smaller percentage of my income. Frankly, I think we need some manufacturing, but that should become a smaller and smaller percentage of our economy.
You appear to be confusing the term "manufacturing" with "production of consumer goods".
Now that many college graduates have no hope of ever paying back their loans
Most of of us have more interesting problems to worry about than a bunch of brats who borrowed and partied away $100K while getting a useless degree in fine arts or something and now don't want to pay it back and their parents who neglected to tell them that the world does not owe them a living.
The sort of people who can afford to do a fine arts degree are most likely from upper middle class, wealthy parents who can get them a good job in Finance through their contacts. The problem is the poor working class student who struggles through a degree in something like mechanical engineering then finds there are no jobs in engineering available unless he wants to go and live in China.
He also holds the world land speed record for a diesel-powered wheel-driven car, the JCB Dieselmax which took the record to 350mph at Bonneville in 2006.
It must be different in the US, but here in the UK "JCB" is pretty much the standard shorthand for what you call a back hoe. So this presents a somewhat humourous image to a British mind.
You should move to europe or japan and keep their shitcans off our roads, you cunt. You buy those cars because it makes you look cool to other like-minded cunts. Meanwhile, real Americans know that you're just a cunt.
The best auto technology has all been invented right here in the U.S.A.
Your mummy just called you upstairs for dins dins, have you gone deaf from masturbating or something?
Unfortunately for you Christians and Republicans, a fair society depends on everyone getting help when they need it, not just when someone condescends to lend a hand if they feel like it.
I think they mean there have been 2^17 stories (262,144) and completely unconnectedly they have lost the first 2^10 (1,024) individual postings out of god knows how many.
I don't care how much you know and love Linux, if you're a drooling racist (American Third Position my fucking arse, neo-Nazi crap more like) you can go fuck yurself. I assume some fellow retards have modded you as insightful. When their balls drop, maybe they'll realise how vile and idiotic they've been.
reason to put someone in prison.
There are better ways to punish and develop corrective measures.
I think depriving someone of their freedom is an excellent punishment.
Rehabilitation is a different issue, unfortunately neuro-surgery to remove the offending self-entitlement area of the brain and graft on a new conscience isn't feasible at the moment.
Slashdot Mirror
There aren't many (any?) examples of permanent, stable societies.
There are no examples of a human being living forever. Therefore there's no point in worrying about public health, medicine, crime, war, education, science, culture, disease or anything else as we're all going to die in the end.
Arsehole.
I thought freedom was the purpose.
What does "making a difference" mean anyway? Pol Pot made a difference.
What exactly does "freedom" mean when you're talking about education? The freedom of a child not to be told what to do? The freedom of a parent to insist their precious snowflake is only allowed to read stories about Baby Jesus? The overall increase in freedom resulting from an intelligent, educated population?
The Pol Pot comment is simply risible in its attempt to yoke genocide alongside any form of government. I suppose you'd have used Hitler instead, except that (a) Godwin's law is too well known and (b) you secretly admire him.
The only safe choice is to very strictly limit government power, so when unworthy people get elected, they can't hurt anyone.
That is a fucking stupid argument when it is a government who will, for example, launch the nuclear weapons that start WW3.
I know libertarians think that if you shrink government enough it will disappear, but by that stage you'll just have mega-corporations running things instead, without even the smallest democratic control over what they do.
Proof yet again that it is impossible to differentiate between a good troll and a genuine libertarian nutbag.
Parents are free influence their children all they like, that's why home schooling is allowed.
Only in the US where the freedoms of the rich, religious and rightwing to do as they like trump the right of a child to a normal life.
Here in the UK, home schooling is theoretically possible, but almost never happens except in cases of severely medically challenged, behaviourally extreme or mentally ill children, as far as I know.
Parents do not have the freedom to fuck up their kids lives. Or, rather, they shouldn't.
Part of the job of schools should most certainly be the correction of blatant idiocies and lies forced on kids by their inadequate, religiously-blinded, politically-obsessed parents.
I'm fine with people believing in God
I'm fine with people believing they're Napoleon, I would just like to see them get treatment.
Advertising, at its worst, distorts consumer behavior and causes unearned cashflow. This unearned cashflow causes corporations to focus their product development on features that advertise well even if they do not result in genuine customer satisfaction, resulting in a net drag on the economy.
All advertising is about persuading people to buy things they do not need or even particularly want. If it's not distorting consumer behaviour, it's not doing anything at all, is it?
The idea that you can split up "good" and "bad" advertising is just absurd..
Even if slashdot paid nothing for its bandwidth and managed to run on equipment supplied by and maintained by volunteers, it would then just be a hobby site, not a business. I don't think that's a bad thing, I just want to point out that you're then talking about something completely different than economics.
With the growth of new manufacturing technology, such as small scale CNC lathes, 3D printers and cheap/free 3D software (e.g. Google Sketchup), the means of small scale production are becoming cheap enough for anyone industrious. It's a second industrial revolution. One where you don't have the service of a local factory telling you things they'll pay you to do, but you get to control production.
I think you're being over-optimistic. There is a reason that we have huge factories producing things. Not everything can be done in your garage.
The increased productivity from a modern economy means a smaller and smaller percentage of your productivity (roughly, time spent working) is devoting to actually making things that are necessary for life like food, housing, transportation. A larger percentage can be spent on doing optional things like eating out, going on vacations, etc.
John Maynarde Keynes said something similar in 1930. It appeared to be true up until the 1960/70s, but since then working hours have not decreased any further, and in fact most people probably work more now than they did in the 1970s.
America cannot be viable long term on a service-based economy.
Why not? There is only so much I need in terms of physical goods. As I make more money, that becomes a smaller percentage of my income. Frankly, I think we need some manufacturing, but that should become a smaller and smaller percentage of our economy.
You appear to be confusing the term "manufacturing" with "production of consumer goods".
Now that many college graduates have no hope of ever paying back their loans Most of of us have more interesting problems to worry about than a bunch of brats who borrowed and partied away $100K while getting a useless degree in fine arts or something and now don't want to pay it back and their parents who neglected to tell them that the world does not owe them a living.
The sort of people who can afford to do a fine arts degree are most likely from upper middle class, wealthy parents who can get them a good job in Finance through their contacts. The problem is the poor working class student who struggles through a degree in something like mechanical engineering then finds there are no jobs in engineering available unless he wants to go and live in China.
He also holds the world land speed record for a diesel-powered wheel-driven car, the JCB Dieselmax which took the record to 350mph at Bonneville in 2006.
It must be different in the US, but here in the UK "JCB" is pretty much the standard shorthand for what you call a back hoe. So this presents a somewhat humourous image to a British mind.
You should move to europe or japan and keep their shitcans off our roads, you cunt. You buy those cars because it makes you look cool to other like-minded cunts. Meanwhile, real Americans know that you're just a cunt.
The best auto technology has all been invented right here in the U.S.A.
Your mummy just called you upstairs for dins dins, have you gone deaf from masturbating or something?
This project is being used to get kids interested in science, technology, and mathematics.
And what about a 1000 mpg car? Sounds much more interesting to me.
You're not a kid are you?
Unfortunately for you Christians and Republicans, a fair society depends on everyone getting help when they need it, not just when someone condescends to lend a hand if they feel like it.
I cannot take anything seriously that spells fair as faire, unless it's deliberately anachronistic like Elizabethan steam punk or something.
Makerfaire just sounds wanky. Sorry.
I think they mean there have been 2^17 stories (262,144) and completely unconnectedly they have lost the first 2^10 (1,024) individual postings out of god knows how many.
The lack of proper punctuation probably did it.
he almost always writes like that
his post above is one of the few with Capital Letters i have ever seen
And anyway, it's hardly fair to criticise someone's grammar when they're living through what must have seemed like the end of the world.
Get over yourself.
Anyone who responds to bullying by engaging in mass murderer deserves no sympathy whatsoever.
I don't care how much you know and love Linux, if you're a drooling racist (American Third Position my fucking arse, neo-Nazi crap more like) you can go fuck yurself. I assume some fellow retards have modded you as insightful. When their balls drop, maybe they'll realise how vile and idiotic they've been.
accounting's position was: "well, that's balance sheet & non-cash so it doesn't really matter..."
No, it wasn't. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
And I don't even need to have worked there to know that.
reason to put someone in prison. There are better ways to punish and develop corrective measures.
I think depriving someone of their freedom is an excellent punishment.
Rehabilitation is a different issue, unfortunately neuro-surgery to remove the offending self-entitlement area of the brain and graft on a new conscience isn't feasible at the moment.