So the drop in crime of 8% last year in the UK is a mirage? How about the 20 year low in homicides? In 2009, there were 651 homicides in England & Wales (Scotland is reported separately). For the US, over the same period, the number was 18,361. The US has 6 times the population but 28 times more homicides.
"If Oregon has vehicle inspection, then why not just use odometer checks instead? Or check the odometer reading when they renew their tags."
There's no vehicle inspection and most of us here renew tags for 4 years ($104 when I renewed mine in 2005). The whole idea is an idiotic one. I feel that there is a lot more to this than just an alternative tax collection method.
The voting forms for U.S. elections tend to be vastly more complex than those in the U.K. At election time in Britain you may have a vote for the MP, local councillor and maybe Parish councillor. Usually it's just one of the 3 because the elections are staggered. Here in the U.S. almost every position in the equivalent of the local council is voted on, pretty much down to who picks up the dog turds in the local park. Then there's the "propositions" (basically referenda), often on such complex issues that the average man in the street can't make a meaningful decision. Then add votes for various bonds and other funding, local council representatives, state representative, etc. and you end up with around 20-30 choices to make and, if your area uses paper, a ballot 10 pages long and a voter inofmration leaflet 20 pages long. Of course, that may not apply to everywhere in the U.S. but it does in my neck of the woods.
"Googling a person before hire to learn as much about them as possible is standard practice these days."
Well that explains a lot. Googling myself (don't do that in public) the other day I found someone convicted of supplying heroin with not only the same name as me but the same age and living in the same town as I worked in at the time of his conviction. I wonder how many HR folks put 2+2 together and got 5 on that one?
"What is the funny thing about bulgaria."
Many years ago I was on a ski-ing holiday in Bulgaria. One night in the hotel, we found we were next to a table of Russians in the restaurant. For some reason, when tea was brought to the table, it was always with the tea bags and the (very) hot water seperate. The Russians had never seen tea bags before and asked the waiter what ot do with them. The Bulgarian waiter explained that they needed to pour some of the water in the teacup, place the teabag in the mouth and suck the water through it! At least that's what I assume he told them because that's what they did.
A few years ago I went to work for a new start-up ISP as Ops Manager. One of the actions I took was to assign someone to manage abuse reports and action them appropriately. Within a week, the "higher ups" put a stop to it as they considered it un-economical. They're out of business now.
Slashdot Mirror
So the drop in crime of 8% last year in the UK is a mirage? How about the 20 year low in homicides? In 2009, there were 651 homicides in England & Wales (Scotland is reported separately). For the US, over the same period, the number was 18,361. The US has 6 times the population but 28 times more homicides.
"If Oregon has vehicle inspection, then why not just use odometer checks instead? Or check the odometer reading when they renew their tags."
There's no vehicle inspection and most of us here renew tags for 4 years ($104 when I renewed mine in 2005). The whole idea is an idiotic one. I feel that there is a lot more to this than just an alternative tax collection method.
The voting forms for U.S. elections tend to be vastly more complex than those in the U.K. At election time in Britain you may have a vote for the MP, local councillor and maybe Parish councillor. Usually it's just one of the 3 because the elections are staggered.
Here in the U.S. almost every position in the equivalent of the local council is voted on, pretty much down to who picks up the dog turds in the local park. Then there's the "propositions" (basically referenda), often on such complex issues that the average man in the street can't make a meaningful decision. Then add votes for various bonds and other funding, local council representatives, state representative, etc. and you end up with around 20-30 choices to make and, if your area uses paper, a ballot 10 pages long and a voter inofmration leaflet 20 pages long. Of course, that may not apply to everywhere in the U.S. but it does in my neck of the woods.
"Googling a person before hire to learn as much about them as possible is standard practice these days." Well that explains a lot. Googling myself (don't do that in public) the other day I found someone convicted of supplying heroin with not only the same name as me but the same age and living in the same town as I worked in at the time of his conviction. I wonder how many HR folks put 2+2 together and got 5 on that one?
But they did it on CSI:NY so it MUST be possible.
"What is the funny thing about bulgaria." Many years ago I was on a ski-ing holiday in Bulgaria. One night in the hotel, we found we were next to a table of Russians in the restaurant. For some reason, when tea was brought to the table, it was always with the tea bags and the (very) hot water seperate. The Russians had never seen tea bags before and asked the waiter what ot do with them. The Bulgarian waiter explained that they needed to pour some of the water in the teacup, place the teabag in the mouth and suck the water through it! At least that's what I assume he told them because that's what they did.
A few years ago I went to work for a new start-up ISP as Ops Manager. One of the actions I took was to assign someone to manage abuse reports and action them appropriately. Within a week, the "higher ups" put a stop to it as they considered it un-economical. They're out of business now.