My solution: Any breach of the law that was made while abusing a position of authority (a) must be prosecuted, and (b) upon conviction, double the maximum penalty prescribed in the law must be applied.
While I agree with the spirit of your argument, I see two major problems with it. Its not that people would never pass the law, its that:
1. Noone would ever willingly become a law enforcement officer
2. A large number of "false positive" accusations will occur when guilty people try to smear the reputation of an arresting officer.
I'll grant you your point, but as a counterpoint - There is a world of difference between flawless grammar and punctuation, and the whole "lolol kthxbye!!!!1111111eleventy" crap that is infecting society these days. There is some middle ground there somewhere, a place where the occasional misspelling or typo is politely overlooked, but where people don't totally and willfully mangle the language.
I used to worry that because we formed societies, and protect the weak
I agree with your general sentiment, in that the human race has often been guilty of doing things "because we can" not necessarily because we should, But I do feel that the governments of the developed world spend way too much time legislating against stupidity. Sure having rules to live society by is a good thing, but if you shift the line back every time someone does something dumb and gets themselves killed, sooner or later you'll just be promoting reverse-darwinism. As it is, common sense is no longer common, how much longer until it becomes a self-perpetuating prophecy?
If I yell "fire", and you panic, that's your fault
Mod me to hell and gone, I don't care, but this is yet another prime example of people simply refusing to take responsibility for their own actions. How about you yell fire 10, 50 or a hundred times, till people get the "joke" and then on the 101st time, there really is a fire, and a crowded cinema full of people die, because they stopped believing you.
Communication is an important thing, and it depends on meanings of words and short phrases. In certain circumstances, you actually want to be able to convey huge volumes of data with only one or two words. If someone deliberately and willfully tries to erode the data content of that word or phrase (by censorship, by the childish bullshit outlined by the parent, or even by propaganda/google bombing/whatever), then they all deserve to be slow roasted. Its hard enough to move ideas between people as it is, without additional static clouding things.
I understand that this is a little off topic, but I have a suggestion to the voter issue you have in your country. Make the ballot officials in each constituency be selected the same way you select jurors for a trial. Instead of lawyers and Magistrates overseeing and rejecting potential candidates, have a duly selected representative (or better yet, the person who's name is on the ballot) performing the role. This way it will be impossible to bribe the officials, as noone will know who they are until a few days before the election. It will also be impossible for any of the major parties to cry foul over issues of rigging paper ballots.
I tend to agree with the general feelings on Slashdot in regards to these machines, but for a slightly diferent reason. A corporation has its own bottom line to consider, why the hell wouldn't they want to keep in power, the people that pay them millions for their technology.
it is only a matter of time until Microsoft takes up the fine traditions of RIAA, MPAA and Mafia.
Traditionally Microsoft hasn't prosecuted the end user for copyright violations, only businesses and governments. I believe this to be for two reasons;
1. The cost involved in hunting down and dragging to court every individual.
2. That (until recently) office applications have historically been incompatible with those from other software designers.
Basically if everyone was pirating and using MS apps at home, it would force big business to play along, just so that they wouldn't have to completely re-train everyone in the office, and also so they can force the good little wage slaves to work from home. That and its far easier to hit a big, lumbering target that can't get out of the way.
Perhaps, but the US isn't exactly in a position to argue - they're spread a little thin as it is. Also, after seeing the ways China has historically dealt with their own people, combined with the fact that *everyone* wants to be commercially in bed with them, I'm sure they'll all turn a blind eye as China makes all their troubles in the region just disappear.
The reason I believe this to be a possibility, is that in the past, China has had a history of asking the rest of the world to lay off North Korea and leave them alone. With the North Korean government changing from what appeared to be just an oppresive and semi-stable dictatorship into something with long range ballistic weaponry and the attitude of a rabid wolf, China will be starting to get very nervous.
The last thing China needs on their western border is a number of nuclear exchanges. Even if one of them is launched by a technical ally of theirs.
May I be the first to offer congratulations to whoever did that. Its the duty of the old to educate the young. Preferrably with the biggest stick you can find:P
Thing with China is, if North Korea becomes too much of a political liability, they'll just move in and annexe the whole country. IMHO the man in charge has more to fear from China than from the US.
I got tired of new games looking or playing like shit on otherwise perfectly good hardware. I either couldn't afford or couldn't justify a high end games rig.
Mod parent up, because this is exactly the crux of the issue. What happens when you have to buy a new HDD/graphics card/CPU every 6 months to keep up with the game release cycle? Buy a new license for vista too?
any such solution would have to protect the bosses' email from peons while still allowing convenient access to the peons' email by the bosses.
It gets worse than that, I've worked for government bodies where the Chief Executives of a department not only grant full access rights for their email and calendar to their personal assistants(ie. add, delete, modify and send as), but also get them to call through for password resets - *EXPECTING* us to provide the reset password to them to then pass on to their boss...
I'm breaking a personal rule here, I've already posted above, but I felt this deserved a response. Why is it that you automatically equate Nuclear Power with Nuclear Weapons?
Didn't Japan enter WWII because they were desperate for oil? Haven't they learned from this blunder?
I can see where people get this idea from, but for one second let me offer an alternative thought that is totally independent of prejudice (semitic or otherwise).
Consider that the Israelis have proven time and again to be absolutely ruthless in dealing with attacks on its people and provinces. Consider also that the Israeli government has a scorched earth policy in relation to the detonation of WMD's on their soil. Consider also, that America relies on large quantities of oil from the Arabian peninsula to maintain its economic and technological superiority.
It paints an altogether different picture no? I believe that the issue is less one of America protecting Israel and more one of America protecting all of its other interests in the middle east, from fear that the Israelis get it into their heads to vaporize the lot.
it was used above as a reference to not being an Astro-Physicist, Its my fault for thinking that slashdot readers generally pay attention to the conversation streams.
Slashdot Mirror
Its called capitalism. Apple has approached them with a joint marketing deal most likely.
While I agree with the spirit of your argument, I see two major problems with it. Its not that people would never pass the law, its that:
1. Noone would ever willingly become a law enforcement officer
2. A large number of "false positive" accusations will occur when guilty people try to smear the reputation of an arresting officer.
I'll grant you your point, but as a counterpoint - There is a world of difference between flawless grammar and punctuation, and the whole "lolol kthxbye!!!!1111111eleventy" crap that is infecting society these days. There is some middle ground there somewhere, a place where the occasional misspelling or typo is politely overlooked, but where people don't totally and willfully mangle the language.
I vote Plays for Maybe
Mod me to hell and gone, I don't care, but this is yet another prime example of people simply refusing to take responsibility for their own actions. How about you yell fire 10, 50 or a hundred times, till people get the "joke" and then on the 101st time, there really is a fire, and a crowded cinema full of people die, because they stopped believing you.
Communication is an important thing, and it depends on meanings of words and short phrases. In certain circumstances, you actually want to be able to convey huge volumes of data with only one or two words. If someone deliberately and willfully tries to erode the data content of that word or phrase (by censorship, by the childish bullshit outlined by the parent, or even by propaganda/google bombing/whatever), then they all deserve to be slow roasted. Its hard enough to move ideas between people as it is, without additional static clouding things.
You mean by timing it?
so you're saying the server.... surrendered?
I understand that this is a little off topic, but I have a suggestion to the voter issue you have in your country. Make the ballot officials in each constituency be selected the same way you select jurors for a trial. Instead of lawyers and Magistrates overseeing and rejecting potential candidates, have a duly selected representative (or better yet, the person who's name is on the ballot) performing the role. This way it will be impossible to bribe the officials, as noone will know who they are until a few days before the election. It will also be impossible for any of the major parties to cry foul over issues of rigging paper ballots.
I tend to agree with the general feelings on Slashdot in regards to these machines, but for a slightly diferent reason. A corporation has its own bottom line to consider, why the hell wouldn't they want to keep in power, the people that pay them millions for their technology.
Traditionally Microsoft hasn't prosecuted the end user for copyright violations, only businesses and governments. I believe this to be for two reasons;
1. The cost involved in hunting down and dragging to court every individual.
2. That (until recently) office applications have historically been incompatible with those from other software designers.
Basically if everyone was pirating and using MS apps at home, it would force big business to play along, just so that they wouldn't have to completely re-train everyone in the office, and also so they can force the good little wage slaves to work from home. That and its far easier to hit a big, lumbering target that can't get out of the way.
Yup, its called Alcohol.
Ahh, but if there were indeed only 3 reported instances, would this constitute a statistically valid sample? or is it just coincidental?
I ask as a totally disinterested third party - I'm not American and don't plan on trying to become one.
So you're saying that they made their time?
err - that would be EASTERN border - I suck at geography :P
Perhaps, but the US isn't exactly in a position to argue - they're spread a little thin as it is. Also, after seeing the ways China has historically dealt with their own people, combined with the fact that *everyone* wants to be commercially in bed with them, I'm sure they'll all turn a blind eye as China makes all their troubles in the region just disappear.
The reason I believe this to be a possibility, is that in the past, China has had a history of asking the rest of the world to lay off North Korea and leave them alone. With the North Korean government changing from what appeared to be just an oppresive and semi-stable dictatorship into something with long range ballistic weaponry and the attitude of a rabid wolf, China will be starting to get very nervous.
The last thing China needs on their western border is a number of nuclear exchanges. Even if one of them is launched by a technical ally of theirs.
May I be the first to offer congratulations to whoever did that. Its the duty of the old to educate the young. Preferrably with the biggest stick you can find :P
Thing with China is, if North Korea becomes too much of a political liability, they'll just move in and annexe the whole country. IMHO the man in charge has more to fear from China than from the US.
Mod parent up, because this is exactly the crux of the issue. What happens when you have to buy a new HDD/graphics card/CPU every 6 months to keep up with the game release cycle? Buy a new license for vista too?
It gets worse than that, I've worked for government bodies where the Chief Executives of a department not only grant full access rights for their email and calendar to their personal assistants(ie. add, delete, modify and send as), but also get them to call through for password resets - *EXPECTING* us to provide the reset password to them to then pass on to their boss...
I'm breaking a personal rule here, I've already posted above, but I felt this deserved a response. Why is it that you automatically equate Nuclear Power with Nuclear Weapons?
Didn't Japan enter WWII because they were desperate for oil? Haven't they learned from this blunder?
If history is any indicator, most probably. Humanity isn't exactly known for its ability to learn from previous mistakes.
I like your point though, I just don't have a lot of faith in my fellow man.
Could it perhaps be because a story hasn't been submitted for it?
Disclaimer: I'm sure there could be a multitude of reasons, but this one seems the simplest and most logical
i know i know, but someone's going to say it
Would this not then bring a rise in suicide blogging?
I can see where people get this idea from, but for one second let me offer an alternative thought that is totally independent of prejudice (semitic or otherwise).
Consider that the Israelis have proven time and again to be absolutely ruthless in dealing with attacks on its people and provinces. Consider also that the Israeli government has a scorched earth policy in relation to the detonation of WMD's on their soil. Consider also, that America relies on large quantities of oil from the Arabian peninsula to maintain its economic and technological superiority.
It paints an altogether different picture no? I believe that the issue is less one of America protecting Israel and more one of America protecting all of its other interests in the middle east, from fear that the Israelis get it into their heads to vaporize the lot.
it was used above as a reference to not being an Astro-Physicist, Its my fault for thinking that slashdot readers generally pay attention to the conversation streams.