Hey ! US Constitution was the MOST Liberal constitution every written. It virtually guaranteed freedom from persecution based on religion, caste, creed, color or anything. It was the first constitution that was 200 years ahead of its time in securing people against unwarranted searches. It also made sure Justice was not delayed and guaranteed an accused was judged by peers.
The recent assault on constitution culminating in Bush approving torture, and wanting retroactive immunity, even though constitution rejects it is an aberration.
Coming to japan, what can you expect from a country that thought surrendering soldiers were cowards; whose soliders sent sent hair, finger nails to their families as soveneirs, that Baatan March was a pleasant trip, that STILL practices discrimination against its own people and thinks derogatory about all non-japanese.
I do hope their extreme xenophobia, introverted culture dies with them slowly. I hope in 200 years, japan as a distinct country becomes extinct.
Steve is lying and so are you. I use an LG Viewty KU990 touchscreen phone based on Flash. I use customized handset themes for it to make it act like fully 3D. Nowhere did i find it slower than iPhone.
Flash is easier to do beautiful interactive elements. True. Flash is awful for playing videos. True.
Flash as UI for phones. Great, because it is thin, light and simply works.
get throttled by forged packets saying the party ended the phone call If that happens, the following will happen:
In other news, the FBI busted a racket by Comcast executives that raked up billions for the syndicate by threatening to cutt of 911 access to customers mid-speech if they did not call a 1-900 number before. Speaking to reporters, the regional FBI director of Quantico said: "We have received numerous complaints that comcast was delibrately cutting off 911 access to victims by forcing them to agree to route their calls through a 1-900-xxxxx number located in the eastern europe. We are also investigating the possibility that a terrorist plot may have been hatched."
Comcast vehemently opposed such accusations saying it baseless and that its lawyers are working on it.
he should be on his way to prison for breaking his end of the deal Exactly! That is what the British said about Paul Revere... Now wait a second! whose side am i on....is this the Empire or USA?
he signed on to a job that had requirements, and he broke those requirements Wasn't the president asked to mumble something during the oath taking about keeping the constitution sacred and to obey it??? Oh yeah, right, such oaths mean nothing, since its the President.
we can take care of it with something Why do i keep seeing the following poem on the US Holocaust Memorial:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.
I couldn't care less if there's some guy sitting in an office in Virginia listening to my phone calls. Small drops make a ocean, small grains of sand make a beach. Small steps like these make a totalitarian state make.
Do you think our Founders were stupid to abolish domestic spying?
It is people like you who form the remaining 22% support base for Bush & Co. Perhaps if you are shown on your DVD player all (i mean ALL) that you have said, done and possibly non-being-able-to-do, i guess you will understand...Or probably you would shrug it off when Eva Longoria comes about in Desperate Housewives.
US law protects whistle blowers What law? The one passed in 1970s? That was repealed by Bush last year. Today no law protects Federal Whistleblowers. If they squeak, the KGB, sorry FBI, descends on them like rocks. Either that, or your husband is exposed as a spy, or your son is arrested for dealing in drugs. Get real man! We have a president who says we should thank companies for breaking the law! And who treats the contitution as toilet paper to wipe cheney's a$$.
I can't help but think that the West, particularly America has lost its vision True. That's because corporates have bought over america completely and now think of next-quarter results rather than strategic thought. Next, NASA would be privatized and disbanded to fund social security.
Americans by and large don't want progress. Wrong. Americans want progress. Corporates dont. Changes involves uncertainity, risks, etc., which bean-counters do not like. So companies stifle change and make sure innovation comes at a slower pace. Why do you think it took Apple to bring in Visual VoiceMail? Why can't i have a video call facility from my LG Viewty (my carrier does not)?
If we could put a man on the moon, it was because of government initiative. Not because some corporate thought so. The past 8 years, corporate fungii has overgrown most government by atleast 75%.
Bush and Cheney surely made sure corporates are in a position to sell US to highest bidder. Next we would see Statue of Liberty sold to France as a Derivative, while the Alaskan oil sands are already sold to BP and Exxon.
I can see China placing a man on Mars before US does. And even after such a humiliation our corporates would rather start a profitable war with Chavez rather than respond to China.
Which is why they don't make them anymore. After all if you could buy a TV and make it last for 20 years, then pretty soon no one else would be buying TV sets and Sony would be bust. Which is why you need to replace a Plasma TV every 6 years and an LCD every 7 years while a normal CR set would be dead in 5 years or less. This longlast stuff is applicable when you are new to the market and the product too is new to the market. Longlast would be an advantage then. First lesson in Marketing.
They are a much more inviting lawsuit target than some penniless hacker Righhht ! And how many have paid millions out as a result of lawsuit judgements going out against them? Name one case where a corporation was convicted of being a hacker and made to pay out millions.
Now go and count the cases where a poor individual hacker was convicted of hacking?
including Sony So, you recommend i incorporate myself as a corporate so that i may successfully produce rootkits without fear of conviction?
Lawyer for victim: "The accused here caused massive financial damages to my client by putting in a rootkit and stealing bank account information thus enabling 3rd parties who used the rootkit to steal money from my client's accounts."
Lawyer for accused: "Your honor, i present for your perusal, information from earlier such cases where the corporate was trying to protect intellectual property and was as much a victim. Request dismissal of case."
Judge: "This accused being a corporation, i cannot sentence it to jail or sentence it to hang. I hereby ORDER the corporation to pay the victim an amount of $300/- towards computer repair and to tender an apology in writing to court."
I'd flat-out love to see us take the first real step off the planet before I croak...Why not now? Why? Did they find oil in Mars? Either that, or they should find a couple of terrorists in Mars for the Marines to invade.
I stopped watching the series after it Exactly. I stopped watching after Season 1. Political satire, jokes about Gitmo and human rights are something i can readily read on Salon.com or other news papers. And for jokes, i can watch FOX News or even O'reilly.
I think you are still committing perjury Nope. Just point to the president and state to the court that if the president can get away with perjury and the VP can claim to be neither part of the executive or House, then so can you. Say to the judge that you followed the highest example set by the First citizen of the US. After all the government keeps saying they can't be held accountable if blackwater kills a few humans, and they claim the government is helpless since contractors run the war.
They will sue me once they find out. True. But if you have proof that the government refused to correct its mistake even several times after you contacted them, then the government pays for its mistake: to the insurance company.
I would love to do that. Even if i were to donate it to some fat lawyer to defend me in court when the insurance company sues me. It would be fireworks of the highest order. Take out a policy for $13 million, wait to be declared dead, make sure the government refuses to correct its error, then collect the insurance money. If the company sues you (which they will), hire the best lawyer ($500 an hour), and force the government to settle with the company while retaining your money (a fraction of it). It will be fun to watch the government battle it out with the company and they both wanting to kill you.
This will make the insurance companies donate seriously to congress critters to make them pass a law preventing such mistakes.
random racism What the hell does that mean? Random Racism Is that even a word? If your friends think hazing is racism, then they obviously haven't studied in Germany or Japan.
put in to effect a new rule, called the "No-Match Rule" Rule??? What is this? Gestapo state? In the US we follows laws (however screwed up they may be). Rules are like red herrings for us.
In Bush parlance; "Bring 'em on!"
The DHS and its sister Getapo orgs can state any rule they can. Unless backed by a court order or a law we ain't obeying nuthin'. Hell, our local parish gives us "rules" like monogamy, etc., We ain't following that.
The DHS can sue us if we don't fire an employee. See ya in court !
If the IRS declares you dead, and you are not, they should be convicted of attempted murder. Getting your life back after the government makes a mistake is a big hassle not to mention wasted money, loss of income, etc. If i make a "mistake" in assuming am dead and refuse to pay taxes, would the IRS believe me or even forgive me? Am sure i would be sentenced to jail notwithstanding any "am sorry" arguments i may make. Similarly, if the government or IRS makes a mistake, they should pay for it. I recommend convicting the IRS commissioner of attempted murder for every mistake-death they cause. Am absolutely sure that next year the problem would magically disappear.
Lets hope the congress passes atleast this one useful law (which of course Bush would veto, and the spineless dems would bow down).
policemen give passport checks to foreigners just walking down the street Exactly what happened to my friend's son at School. US cops may use Tasers, but they treat all people the same. Japanese have a siege mentality. They think if they let the guard down even once, the world's population would swamp them. The world "alien" in japanese also is a bad word.
I live in China and would never claim it's an immigrant paradise, but people's attitudes and the government's implemented policies are far, far more accommodating than Japan's True. I visited china last year when my bank sent me for training. I found them far more accomodating. I appreciated their culture, visited their museums, and generally found them polite and nice, although their English accent is difficult to understand. And their cops don't randomly stop you.
racism is still alive and well in the US, especially if you have an accent WRONG ! WRONG ! I have been to large cities (Boston, Hartford, NYC, SF) in US, worked there, and also stayed in small towns (Keene[NH], New Britain[CT], MA, TX) etc. Not ONCE did i find even a trace of racism being shown by anybody (from my co-workers to the cops who stopped me because one of my headlights was not working). The only time i was shouted upon was at the DMV in New Britain, CT when my hearing was bad due to a cold when they called out my last name for license. (i use first name and last name never entered my mind). Not just officialdom: I have chatted with my taxi driver (a college student) everyday (Keene, NH), discussed movies (The Village was a bad movie) with Stop&Shop clerks (cashing a TC), long discussion with cops (lost my way and stopped a cop-:)) on best ways to avoid a ticket, Museum curators on whether Edison would be crucified if born today, etc. I have also attended bachelor parties, SOX games, etc., with my hosts one time.
In fact, i prefer US more than i prefer Australia (which is to say a lot).
The model in US is simple: You are considered good and trusted unless you prove otherwise. If you do not betray the trust or work hard enough, Americans trust you more than others. Of course if you screw up, you don't get a second chance. Which is acceptable.
In Japan, even if you are twice as good as they are (Am good in software design: Twice as good as any japanese.) they neither treat you as a human nor treat you like one of the boys.
I don't know why attempts to preserve one's own culture are seen by others as "paranoia and deep hatred of foreigners". No. But when shopkeepers drive you away from their shops, and school children keep poking to make sure your son too is a human being does.
It seems pretty reasonable to me Japanese people would want to speak the Japanese language It goes beyond that. Imagine a culture which teaches (still!) that japanese are human beings and others are Untermenchen. Yeah, japan's schools still teach it.
Kudos to the Japanese for rejecting the great stupidity of our age. The joke is on them. In 100 years, the whole country would be ruled by robots.
The extremes to which Japan goes to avoid importing foreigners speaks of its paranoia and deep hatred of non-japanese. No other society would spend so much money and effort to build Robots to replace an ageing population. Not even Germany is such introverted or had so much hatred in-built.
I remember reading somewhere: 1. France is the country with most restrictive laws on migration, yet is most lenient when it comes to accomodating foreigners. 2. Japan has the most open laws in books to allow migration, yet its officialdom is the most restrictive in implementing it.
Probably because unlike Reich, the Imperial Japanese military never was defeated wholly in their heartland. Instead they surrendered voluntarily thus allowing them to keep their introverted practices.
Japan still has shops, stores, etc., that do not service foreigners (especially the adult shops as my friend can testify). And they STILL do not speak English beyond Tokyo.
I welcome the slow decline and ultimate disappearance of japanese society as a whole.
After a couple of years, the customers just flee. To where? To Whom? Where would you run if you have four heavy barb fences around you? The first wave was led by Worldcom which was a trailblazer atleast technically. This scared the pants off AT&T and SBC (then). Unfortunately if not the fraud and cheating Worldcom did, it would have given AT&T a run for its money.
Grab for too much, you end up with nothing. Oh, i would not say that. Current TELCOS have almost everything locked. Landlines? Check. Mobiles? Check. Bandwidth? Check. B2B Connectivity? Check. (fibres leading to amazon and google can now be double-billed) B2C Connectivity? Check. (throttling, size-plans, etc) Preventing newcomers? Check.
After all what innovation could you do in milking a cow? You get a steady rising income from a financial monopoly which is protected by US Armed forces. (Let Germany's France's ISP try to sell direct fibres to homes in New Britain, Connecticut or Keene, NH).
After all for the sucrose producers it counts nothing if you switch from Coke to pepsi or even Gatorade. Same is the case with Telcos. It does not matter if you switch from Cingular to Verizon or stop FiOS and replace it with a copper (2 Mbps) from Comcast. Just like the oil producing monopolies. You can't boycott Exxon or BP or even the Caracas company led by a crazy socialist.
What the telcos know is that you can't move to a radically different model without paying them.
If someone found a way to switch on telepathy in human mind and provide instant communication, am sure the TELCOS would first get it banned under law, make the telepaths terrorists and the inventor would be jailed in Gitmo, until such time the Telcos figured a way to make off money from it.
Slashdot Mirror
Damn you corporates!
Hey ! US Constitution was the MOST Liberal constitution every written.
It virtually guaranteed freedom from persecution based on religion, caste, creed, color or anything.
It was the first constitution that was 200 years ahead of its time in securing people against unwarranted searches.
It also made sure Justice was not delayed and guaranteed an accused was judged by peers.
The recent assault on constitution culminating in Bush approving torture, and wanting retroactive immunity, even though constitution rejects it is an aberration.
Coming to japan, what can you expect from a country that thought surrendering soldiers were cowards; whose soliders sent sent hair, finger nails to their families as soveneirs, that Baatan March was a pleasant trip, that STILL practices discrimination against its own people and thinks derogatory about all non-japanese.
I do hope their extreme xenophobia, introverted culture dies with them slowly.
I hope in 200 years, japan as a distinct country becomes extinct.
Steve is lying and so are you.
I use an LG Viewty KU990 touchscreen phone based on Flash.
I use customized handset themes for it to make it act like fully 3D.
Nowhere did i find it slower than iPhone.
Flash is easier to do beautiful interactive elements. True.
Flash is awful for playing videos. True.
Flash as UI for phones. Great, because it is thin, light and simply works.
In other news, the FBI busted a racket by Comcast executives that raked up billions for the syndicate by threatening to cutt of 911 access to customers mid-speech if they did not call a 1-900 number before.
Speaking to reporters, the regional FBI director of Quantico said: "We have received numerous complaints that comcast was delibrately cutting off 911 access to victims by forcing them to agree to route their calls through a 1-900-xxxxx number located in the eastern europe. We are also investigating the possibility that a terrorist plot may have been hatched."
Comcast vehemently opposed such accusations saying it baseless and that its lawyers are working on it.
Now wait a second! whose side am i on....is this the Empire or USA? he signed on to a job that had requirements, and he broke those requirements Wasn't the president asked to mumble something during the oath taking about keeping the constitution sacred and to obey it???
Oh yeah, right, such oaths mean nothing, since its the President.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me. I couldn't care less if there's some guy sitting in an office in Virginia listening to my phone calls. Small drops make a ocean, small grains of sand make a beach.
Small steps like these make a totalitarian state make.
Do you think our Founders were stupid to abolish domestic spying?
It is people like you who form the remaining 22% support base for Bush & Co.
Perhaps if you are shown on your DVD player all (i mean ALL) that you have said, done and possibly non-being-able-to-do, i guess you will understand...Or probably you would shrug it off when Eva Longoria comes about in Desperate Housewives.
Today no law protects Federal Whistleblowers.
If they squeak, the KGB, sorry FBI, descends on them like rocks.
Either that, or your husband is exposed as a spy, or your son is arrested for dealing in drugs.
Get real man!
We have a president who says we should thank companies for breaking the law!
And who treats the contitution as toilet paper to wipe cheney's a$$.
That's because corporates have bought over america completely and now think of next-quarter results rather than strategic thought.
Next, NASA would be privatized and disbanded to fund social security. Americans by and large don't want progress. Wrong. Americans want progress. Corporates dont. Changes involves uncertainity, risks, etc., which bean-counters do not like. So companies stifle change and make sure innovation comes at a slower pace.
Why do you think it took Apple to bring in Visual VoiceMail?
Why can't i have a video call facility from my LG Viewty (my carrier does not)?
If we could put a man on the moon, it was because of government initiative. Not because some corporate thought so.
The past 8 years, corporate fungii has overgrown most government by atleast 75%.
Bush and Cheney surely made sure corporates are in a position to sell US to highest bidder.
Next we would see Statue of Liberty sold to France as a Derivative, while the Alaskan oil sands are already sold to BP and Exxon.
I can see China placing a man on Mars before US does.
And even after such a humiliation our corporates would rather start a profitable war with Chavez rather than respond to China.
Which is why they don't make them anymore.
After all if you could buy a TV and make it last for 20 years, then pretty soon no one else would be buying TV sets and Sony would be bust.
Which is why you need to replace a Plasma TV every 6 years and an LCD every 7 years while a normal CR set would be dead in 5 years or less.
This longlast stuff is applicable when you are new to the market and the product too is new to the market. Longlast would be an advantage then.
First lesson in Marketing.
Name one case where a corporation was convicted of being a hacker and made to pay out millions.
Now go and count the cases where a poor individual hacker was convicted of hacking?
Lawyer for victim: "The accused here caused massive financial damages to my client by putting in a rootkit and stealing bank account information thus enabling 3rd parties who used the rootkit to steal money from my client's accounts."
Lawyer for accused: "Your honor, i present for your perusal, information from earlier such cases where the corporate was trying to protect intellectual property and was as much a victim. Request dismissal of case."
Judge: "This accused being a corporation, i cannot sentence it to jail or sentence it to hang. I hereby ORDER the corporation to pay the victim an amount of $300/- towards computer repair and to tender an apology in writing to court."
Either that, or they should find a couple of terrorists in Mars for the Marines to invade.
Have you ever tried to be friends with a Japanese family?
Try that and then come back to slashdot.
Political satire, jokes about Gitmo and human rights are something i can readily read on Salon.com or other news papers. And for jokes, i can watch FOX News or even O'reilly.
Say to the judge that you followed the highest example set by the First citizen of the US.
After all the government keeps saying they can't be held accountable if blackwater kills a few humans, and they claim the government is helpless since contractors run the war.
They will sue me once they find out.
True.
But if you have proof that the government refused to correct its mistake even several times after you contacted them, then the government pays for its mistake: to the insurance company.
I would love to do that.
Even if i were to donate it to some fat lawyer to defend me in court when the insurance company sues me.
It would be fireworks of the highest order.
Take out a policy for $13 million, wait to be declared dead, make sure the government refuses to correct its error, then collect the insurance money.
If the company sues you (which they will), hire the best lawyer ($500 an hour), and force the government to settle with the company while retaining your money (a fraction of it). It will be fun to watch the government battle it out with the company and they both wanting to kill you.
This will make the insurance companies donate seriously to congress critters to make them pass a law preventing such mistakes.
PROFIT!!!
Random Racism Is that even a word?
If your friends think hazing is racism, then they obviously haven't studied in Germany or Japan.
In the US we follows laws (however screwed up they may be). Rules are like red herrings for us.
In Bush parlance; "Bring 'em on!"
The DHS and its sister Getapo orgs can state any rule they can. Unless backed by a court order or a law we ain't obeying nuthin'.
Hell, our local parish gives us "rules" like monogamy, etc., We ain't following that.
The DHS can sue us if we don't fire an employee.
See ya in court !
If the IRS declares you dead, and you are not, they should be convicted of attempted murder.
Getting your life back after the government makes a mistake is a big hassle not to mention wasted money, loss of income, etc.
If i make a "mistake" in assuming am dead and refuse to pay taxes, would the IRS believe me or even forgive me? Am sure i would be sentenced to jail notwithstanding any "am sorry" arguments i may make.
Similarly, if the government or IRS makes a mistake, they should pay for it.
I recommend convicting the IRS commissioner of attempted murder for every mistake-death they cause.
Am absolutely sure that next year the problem would magically disappear.
Lets hope the congress passes atleast this one useful law (which of course Bush would veto, and the spineless dems would bow down).
US cops may use Tasers, but they treat all people the same.
Japanese have a siege mentality. They think if they let the guard down even once, the world's population would swamp them.
The world "alien" in japanese also is a bad word. I live in China and would never claim it's an immigrant paradise, but people's attitudes and the government's implemented policies are far, far more accommodating than Japan's True. I visited china last year when my bank sent me for training.
I found them far more accomodating. I appreciated their culture, visited their museums, and generally found them polite and nice, although their English accent is difficult to understand.
And their cops don't randomly stop you.
I have been to large cities (Boston, Hartford, NYC, SF) in US, worked there, and also stayed in small towns (Keene[NH], New Britain[CT], MA, TX) etc.
Not ONCE did i find even a trace of racism being shown by anybody (from my co-workers to the cops who stopped me because one of my headlights was not working).
The only time i was shouted upon was at the DMV in New Britain, CT when my hearing was bad due to a cold when they called out my last name for license. (i use first name and last name never entered my mind).
Not just officialdom: I have chatted with my taxi driver (a college student) everyday (Keene, NH), discussed movies (The Village was a bad movie) with Stop&Shop clerks (cashing a TC), long discussion with cops (lost my way and stopped a cop-:)) on best ways to avoid a ticket, Museum curators on whether Edison would be crucified if born today, etc.
I have also attended bachelor parties, SOX games, etc., with my hosts one time.
In fact, i prefer US more than i prefer Australia (which is to say a lot).
The model in US is simple: You are considered good and trusted unless you prove otherwise. If you do not betray the trust or work hard enough, Americans trust you more than others.
Of course if you screw up, you don't get a second chance. Which is acceptable.
In Japan, even if you are twice as good as they are (Am good in software design: Twice as good as any japanese.) they neither treat you as a human nor treat you like one of the boys.
The extremes to which Japan goes to avoid importing foreigners speaks of its paranoia and deep hatred of non-japanese.
No other society would spend so much money and effort to build Robots to replace an ageing population.
Not even Germany is such introverted or had so much hatred in-built.
I remember reading somewhere:
1. France is the country with most restrictive laws on migration, yet is most lenient when it comes to accomodating foreigners.
2. Japan has the most open laws in books to allow migration, yet its officialdom is the most restrictive in implementing it.
Probably because unlike Reich, the Imperial Japanese military never was defeated wholly in their heartland. Instead they surrendered voluntarily thus allowing them to keep their introverted practices.
Japan still has shops, stores, etc., that do not service foreigners (especially the adult shops as my friend can testify).
And they STILL do not speak English beyond Tokyo.
I welcome the slow decline and ultimate disappearance of japanese society as a whole.
Where would you run if you have four heavy barb fences around you?
The first wave was led by Worldcom which was a trailblazer atleast technically. This scared the pants off AT&T and SBC (then).
Unfortunately if not the fraud and cheating Worldcom did, it would have given AT&T a run for its money. Grab for too much, you end up with nothing. Oh, i would not say that. Current TELCOS have almost everything locked.
Landlines? Check.
Mobiles? Check.
Bandwidth? Check.
B2B Connectivity? Check. (fibres leading to amazon and google can now be double-billed)
B2C Connectivity? Check. (throttling, size-plans, etc)
Preventing newcomers? Check.
After all what innovation could you do in milking a cow?
You get a steady rising income from a financial monopoly which is protected by US Armed forces.
(Let Germany's France's ISP try to sell direct fibres to homes in New Britain, Connecticut or Keene, NH).
After all for the sucrose producers it counts nothing if you switch from Coke to pepsi or even Gatorade. Same is the case with Telcos.
It does not matter if you switch from Cingular to Verizon or stop FiOS and replace it with a copper (2 Mbps) from Comcast.
Just like the oil producing monopolies. You can't boycott Exxon or BP or even the Caracas company led by a crazy socialist.
What the telcos know is that you can't move to a radically different model without paying them.
If someone found a way to switch on telepathy in human mind and provide instant communication, am sure the TELCOS would first get it banned under law, make the telepaths terrorists and the inventor would be jailed in Gitmo, until such time the Telcos figured a way to make off money from it.