If you are referring to the homogeneous populations of several European countries, then provide some statistics to back up your claim. What you are not taking into account is that those countries have a largely homogeneous population, meaning that nearly 100% of the people are from a distinct ethnic group. This eliminates many of the problems that a country such as the United States has to deal with. Yes, their policies are different, but not necessarily better.
Score: -1, Doesn't understand the difference between Stalinist Communism and Socialism
Seriously, you obviously have no idea. Look at the Socialist countries of Europe, and see how they're performing better than the US.
What does the United States have to do with Stalinist Communism or Socialism? Also, why don't you move to one of those countries?
It all depends on your phones. I have a Sanyo phone with Sprint. No dropped calls, service everywhere that verizon is not, quick menu response time on the phone, easy to use, etc. I am disgusted with Verizon. I had it for 2 years and never got service even at my own house. The phone was crappy with terrible menu lag, and everything you wanted, you had to pay lots of extra money for. Verizon is not that great. Really.
There are places to buy stuff online like gas masks, etc. Regardless of how many people DO buy one, people CAN. The 2nd Amendment right has been interpreted as being able to have weapons for the entire history of the united states. Getting rid of it would only mean that the ones with the weapons are the criminals and not the people that don't use them maliciously.
Right, because your grand-daddy's rifle is really going to help against tanks and automatic weaponry. If it can't contend with the military, then what is the problem?
Yes, we can all get along with our friendly neighbors Kim Jung Il, the Taliban, and Saddam Hussein. Are you one of those people who think its cheap to have economic sanctions? How intuitive...
You are correct on most accounts, and I think the reason for the variety is partly just happenstance, and partly because different options are for different purposes. There are savings accounts just for college savings for children, medical savings, and all sorts of different accounts that have benefits. The accounts you are speaking of such as a 401k, etc, are created to provide penalties to taking out the money and incentives for putting it in. Perhaps some of the specifications are now antiquated.
Firstly, in response to your comments about the idea of one simple investment plan as a good idea: confusion is only created by insufficient research, not by lack of government action. There are many options for people that can be figured out with 5 minutes at a local library.
Secondly, wealth is only created through actual physical means. There is of course other ways to create wealth, but in the end, progress and increasing wealth are based on what can be done to improve the world. 3rd world countries, where everyone simply works for subsistence, with little improvements throughout, do not accrue wealth. People can survive, but rarely accrue wealth, which comes in the idea of a traditional asset, such as a house or a business. In the United States, people are rich because of capitalism creating incentives to create wealth. The desire to progress to produce and to earn money stems from the incentives created by doing so. "Investing" for retirement and otherwise really comes down to the physical companies that are invested in. It can be abstracted to not think about the actual merchants and industries making daily life go by, but these are the actual wealth producers. America is rich because of hard work. However, hard work alone does not ensure wealth. Obviously thought must be used. If people want to invest for retirement and build wealth, then they can simply spend less than they make, and invest the surplus in a long-term growth mutual fund. These are easy options that are out there for the average man to use. They just require a little legwork.
Here is one of my favorite takes on the issue:
"America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way." - Ayn Rand
Taking a bunch of crap and putting it into one successful product IS innovation. Even if they are taking a bunch of products that someone else thought up, putting them together better is innovation. You can say that Microsoft is bloated and big with poor product execution, but what about the Zune? Have you actually used one? It has it's pitfalls sure, but the product was created from conception to execution rather quickly. Additionally, it has a unique menu system, a beautiful UI, and a interesting idea in the wireless sharing of songs. This is innovation. The Windows Media formats are all innovative. They allow greater compression than many other formats of similar quality. And while I am at it: FAILED INNOVATION IS STILL INNOVATION. Other companies don't need to execute perfectly every time they create something innovative (Ipod battery). Don't be so hard on Microsoft.
The reason that Microsoft is so successful is in no small part to their innovations. Regardless of whether or not they created the ideas, by far the most difficult part is putting them into practice. This feat alone is a major innovation of the industry. An even greater feat is putting them into practice in large quantities. Furthermore, although Microsoft has had situations such as ActiveX, they have had success stories such as Direct-X too. Of course, the merits of Direct-X are continually questioned by OpenGL fans, but there is no doubt that creating a standard is innovative.
Link if you want. The thing is, they have every right to think the way they do. I don't agree with what they are saying, but they have the right to think that. Obviously the science is sketchy, but isn't a lot of science? How about the Korean guy that faked all the cloning data? Who knows how often stuff like that happens?
The dropouts perhaps are smart:
Why go to high school when you can drop out and get a GED a lot easier?
You can still get into college, although perhaps not a great one.
It's true. Any person who is in an IT job does not want to risk going to an open source database (even if it saves the company money) because:
1. He does not want to risk his job if there are problems... if there is an Oracle database, he can just use the Oracle support and tell the boss that they are using the best
2. There is no monetary incentive for the IT professional to switch. If the IT professional would see a benefit to himself that would outweigh the possible problems, there might be a switch, but until then what is the benefit?
3. Some companies just want it to work because they want to do business. Most managers don't want to get involved in database technical issues. They just want results and are willing to pay for it.
Actually, EXIF information is pretty much just camera settings, dates, geotagging, and the like. IPTC is the standard used by newspapers, news agencies, and more. This information can be embedded onto many images, jpeg, tiff, etc. This allows captions, locations, credits, bylines, and more. You can use any of the following software http://www.iptc.org/photometadata/softwaresupportl ist1.php that is officially sanctioned by IPTC standard. My favorite is Picasa for adding captions, because you can simply use the arrow keys to go through images, and then just type a caption whenever you see fit. However there are better applications that allow you to batch edit all IPTC data. A good free app is XnView http://perso.orange.fr/pierre.g/xnview/endownloadw in32.html , although there are others out there. However, nothing is a good substitute for dating and naming images properly. For organizational purposes, make a naming scheme for yourself that works. Date folders in a YYYY-MM-DD format with perhaps a description after that, but be careful not to use people's names on the folder because a search for that person will come up with folders of stuff instead of just the pictures that you want. A better solution is to type people's names that are in the picture into the keywords part of the IPTC data. For naming files, use the same dating scheme, and then simply add the photographer's initials, a category, or whatever else you see fit. hope this helps
Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged predicted the ultimate failure and inefficiency of state-funded science organizations... NASA may have done some impressive things, but they are nothing compared to the innovations that can be done with much less money by private parties. The only problem is creating an economic incentive for the private parties. The launching of satellites is an example of where a private party has an economic incentive. Perhaps a revamped NASA would simply be an organization that gives out monetary rewards to private sector organizations that can complete certain tasks. I realize that this is already happening, but I think that NASA itself should scale back and instead of wasting money on the shuttle, let individual capitalist innovation run its course.
This is true... I have a friend that just went to South Africa. She said that they will get a mobile at all costs. In fact, nearly everyone there has one. If the $100 laptop becomes such an icon, who knows what could happen..
Do you actually think that GW makes ANY decisions on his own? I assume by "Bush" that you mean the big business controlled Republican machine.
No decent leader makes too many decisions on their own. He has a cabinet for a reason. Also, you have provided no factual evidence to indicate that the Republican party is controlled by big business. By that basis, I could say that the Democratic party is controlled by Hollywood. What about George Soros and his outspoken gang? Try to learn both sides of the issues before you denigrate the other side.
Yea I always keep my D70 in my pocket just in case.
--
I do have a d70, but I supplement it with a Canon sd500. The SLR is too bulky for carrying around all the time.
I heard they were using it to contact aliens... if thats true then i want to give them my money because I want aliens to come to earth. It sounds like a great way to spend a lot of money... contacting aliens. In short, I think there are far more scientific ways to spend money. Also, if anyone has read Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, you know what can happen with a government science agency. Even the military knows that science is better left to companies that are competing to make money. Competition is much more productive than state funded social loafing. The money is better spent elsewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
Score: -1, Doesn't understand the difference between Stalinist Communism and Socialism
Seriously, you obviously have no idea. Look at the Socialist countries of Europe, and see how they're performing better than the US.
What does the United States have to do with Stalinist Communism or Socialism? Also, why don't you move to one of those countries?
It all depends on your phones. I have a Sanyo phone with Sprint. No dropped calls, service everywhere that verizon is not, quick menu response time on the phone, easy to use, etc. I am disgusted with Verizon. I had it for 2 years and never got service even at my own house. The phone was crappy with terrible menu lag, and everything you wanted, you had to pay lots of extra money for. Verizon is not that great. Really.
Yes, we can all get along with our friendly neighbors Kim Jung Il, the Taliban, and Saddam Hussein. Are you one of those people who think its cheap to have economic sanctions? How intuitive...
You are correct on most accounts, and I think the reason for the variety is partly just happenstance, and partly because different options are for different purposes. There are savings accounts just for college savings for children, medical savings, and all sorts of different accounts that have benefits. The accounts you are speaking of such as a 401k, etc, are created to provide penalties to taking out the money and incentives for putting it in. Perhaps some of the specifications are now antiquated.
Firstly, in response to your comments about the idea of one simple investment plan as a good idea: confusion is only created by insufficient research, not by lack of government action. There are many options for people that can be figured out with 5 minutes at a local library. Secondly, wealth is only created through actual physical means. There is of course other ways to create wealth, but in the end, progress and increasing wealth are based on what can be done to improve the world. 3rd world countries, where everyone simply works for subsistence, with little improvements throughout, do not accrue wealth. People can survive, but rarely accrue wealth, which comes in the idea of a traditional asset, such as a house or a business. In the United States, people are rich because of capitalism creating incentives to create wealth. The desire to progress to produce and to earn money stems from the incentives created by doing so. "Investing" for retirement and otherwise really comes down to the physical companies that are invested in. It can be abstracted to not think about the actual merchants and industries making daily life go by, but these are the actual wealth producers. America is rich because of hard work. However, hard work alone does not ensure wealth. Obviously thought must be used. If people want to invest for retirement and build wealth, then they can simply spend less than they make, and invest the surplus in a long-term growth mutual fund. These are easy options that are out there for the average man to use. They just require a little legwork. Here is one of my favorite takes on the issue: "America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way." - Ayn Rand
Taking a bunch of crap and putting it into one successful product IS innovation. Even if they are taking a bunch of products that someone else thought up, putting them together better is innovation. You can say that Microsoft is bloated and big with poor product execution, but what about the Zune? Have you actually used one? It has it's pitfalls sure, but the product was created from conception to execution rather quickly. Additionally, it has a unique menu system, a beautiful UI, and a interesting idea in the wireless sharing of songs. This is innovation. The Windows Media formats are all innovative. They allow greater compression than many other formats of similar quality. And while I am at it: FAILED INNOVATION IS STILL INNOVATION. Other companies don't need to execute perfectly every time they create something innovative (Ipod battery). Don't be so hard on Microsoft.
The reason that Microsoft is so successful is in no small part to their innovations. Regardless of whether or not they created the ideas, by far the most difficult part is putting them into practice. This feat alone is a major innovation of the industry. An even greater feat is putting them into practice in large quantities. Furthermore, although Microsoft has had situations such as ActiveX, they have had success stories such as Direct-X too. Of course, the merits of Direct-X are continually questioned by OpenGL fans, but there is no doubt that creating a standard is innovative.
I think Mr. Morris should be modded down for his obviously riotous and hateful flamebait of a statement.
AWESOME!!! Thank you capitalism.
I'll finally be able to use my digital camera in RAW video mode...
Link if you want. The thing is, they have every right to think the way they do. I don't agree with what they are saying, but they have the right to think that. Obviously the science is sketchy, but isn't a lot of science? How about the Korean guy that faked all the cloning data? Who knows how often stuff like that happens?
The dropouts perhaps are smart:
Why go to high school when you can drop out and get a GED a lot easier?
You can still get into college, although perhaps not a great one.
It's true. Any person who is in an IT job does not want to risk going to an open source database (even if it saves the company money) because:
1. He does not want to risk his job if there are problems... if there is an Oracle database, he can just use the Oracle support and tell the boss that they are using the best 2. There is no monetary incentive for the IT professional to switch. If the IT professional would see a benefit to himself that would outweigh the possible problems, there might be a switch, but until then what is the benefit? 3. Some companies just want it to work because they want to do business. Most managers don't want to get involved in database technical issues. They just want results and are willing to pay for it.
We already have enough problems in spelling already just try out gogle.com, google.co, or any other variant.
Actually, EXIF information is pretty much just camera settings, dates, geotagging, and the like. IPTC is the standard used by newspapers, news agencies, and more. This information can be embedded onto many images, jpeg, tiff, etc. This allows captions, locations, credits, bylines, and more. You can use any of the following software http://www.iptc.org/photometadata/softwaresupportl ist1.php that is officially sanctioned by IPTC standard. My favorite is Picasa for adding captions, because you can simply use the arrow keys to go through images, and then just type a caption whenever you see fit. However there are better applications that allow you to batch edit all IPTC data. A good free app is XnView http://perso.orange.fr/pierre.g/xnview/endownloadw in32.html , although there are others out there. However, nothing is a good substitute for dating and naming images properly. For organizational purposes, make a naming scheme for yourself that works. Date folders in a YYYY-MM-DD format with perhaps a description after that, but be careful not to use people's names on the folder because a search for that person will come up with folders of stuff instead of just the pictures that you want. A better solution is to type people's names that are in the picture into the keywords part of the IPTC data. For naming files, use the same dating scheme, and then simply add the photographer's initials, a category, or whatever else you see fit. hope this helps
Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged predicted the ultimate failure and inefficiency of state-funded science organizations... NASA may have done some impressive things, but they are nothing compared to the innovations that can be done with much less money by private parties. The only problem is creating an economic incentive for the private parties. The launching of satellites is an example of where a private party has an economic incentive. Perhaps a revamped NASA would simply be an organization that gives out monetary rewards to private sector organizations that can complete certain tasks. I realize that this is already happening, but I think that NASA itself should scale back and instead of wasting money on the shuttle, let individual capitalist innovation run its course.
___________________
My > two bits
This is true... I have a friend that just went to South Africa. She said that they will get a mobile at all costs. In fact, nearly everyone there has one. If the $100 laptop becomes such an icon, who knows what could happen..
Do you actually think that GW makes ANY decisions on his own? I assume by "Bush" that you mean the big business controlled Republican machine.
No decent leader makes too many decisions on their own. He has a cabinet for a reason. Also, you have provided no factual evidence to indicate that the Republican party is controlled by big business. By that basis, I could say that the Democratic party is controlled by Hollywood. What about George Soros and his outspoken gang? Try to learn both sides of the issues before you denigrate the other side.
...I just got a DX9 card...
Yea I always keep my D70 in my pocket just in case. -- I do have a d70, but I supplement it with a Canon sd500. The SLR is too bulky for carrying around all the time.
You're response, like mine, accomplishes nothing. Way to be a democrat.
Microsoft has a compatibility issue?
I heard they were using it to contact aliens... if thats true then i want to give them my money because I want aliens to come to earth. It sounds like a great way to spend a lot of money... contacting aliens. In short, I think there are far more scientific ways to spend money. Also, if anyone has read Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, you know what can happen with a government science agency. Even the military knows that science is better left to companies that are competing to make money. Competition is much more productive than state funded social loafing. The money is better spent elsewhere.
It is all George Bush's fault. See this article.