Bending the laws on torture
Bending the laws on surveillance
No-bid contracts
Lying about weapons of mass destruction
Humiliating yourself in Irak
Bullying you allies over Irak
Kidnapping foreign citizens
Extraordinary rendition
Guantanamo
America, how we have loved you, and how you have fallen
I agree with the parent on this 100%. I would seriously consider several Compal models, they are some of the best notebooks I have ever seen. If you live in Europe have a look at Zepto computers. I bought my last ntbk in Denmark and have been extremely pleased with it.
You're absolutely right, but this happens a lot with US arms exports which are normally crippled (on purpose) and have poor post sale support. This is done on purpose by the americans to maintain greater leverage in influencing politics in different regions. It's not what you would expect from a good ally, but it is a clever strategy.
Another example of this are F-16's sold to Chile recently. The codes and procedures for the onboard computers where not provided, something the other models which competed for the bid offered. In the end Chile chose the "bad" option of buying the F16's because it buckled to US pressure. If a war breaks out, and the US doesn't support Chile's stance, they're screwed.
This means US systems are usually a bad option to buy. They may be very good systems when the americans use them, but you won't get the full spectrum of features, but the decision to buy weapons is made at a very high level in governments and usually factors in other elements, like US goodwill to some other policy objective, so these are not necessarily irrational choices.
You are absolutely right. It's interesting to compare what the French and Americans spend on their healthcare systems. In the US we are spending 16% of our GNP and have 46 million people without any form of insurance (and of those who do have insurance, a lot of it is worthless when it really counts).
In France, however, they are spending 10% of GNP on a system which covers everyone and routinely outperforms what we have in the US.
More FUD to watch out for is the crap about lines and impossible waiting times. I've spent a total of two years in France, including two months in the hospital with a pretty nasty pneumonia. The staff was always courteous and competent. This is at the same time my compatriots were all bashing surrender monkeys and feeling clever.
It seems to me Apple are trying to create an elite product people will aspire to own, and plans to capitalize on that position when they introduce cheaper versions with more limited features, kind of like ipod minis and shuffles really hitch a ride on the demand for "full blown" ipods.
Exactly. The tragedy of this whole issue is that other rare and endangered languages won't be used for software localizations if this makes such translations expensive.
Yeah... you wouldn't be able to pay for my services with your own services most of the time... but maybe your wife/girlfriend and I can work something out...
I was about to say the same thing about France, but will add this as a reply here. I worked in France for some time and remember the same rights being effective there, and having them printed on a lot of things you sign to when you hand someone information (when ordering something or whatever). I remember being impressed that the system seemed to work there and be respected, at least most of the time, though I'm sure there are exceptions.
It is interesting to note that while a lot of restrictions are in place on the kind of information private companies can obtain and store about you, making France one of the most privacy conscious countries in the world as far as commerce is concerned, the opposite is true about their intelligence services. Though laws protect certain professions from snooping (journalists, judges, and the like), if you're an ordinary person, they can know pretty much everything about you with little oversight.
This being slashdot, I though more people would be using electric shavers. In fact, I thought the Philishave Coolskin shavers would be the ultimate in geek shaving gear.
For the record, I use a philishave electric razor myself...
It's also worth pointing out that in a system of socialized or largely socialized healthcare, in a democratic and transparent state (like you have in the scandinavian countries), the state has an incentive in promoting a healthy lifestyle for its citizens, and they have a stake in keeping the healthcare system from bein overburdened. It isn't surprising, then, that the most agressive anti-tobacco campaigns in Europe were launched in Sweden before being imitated by other governments.
Of course, many libertarians will tell you that you have a right to pay for you own unhealthy behavior, which is true to a point, but if they believe your health exists entirely in a vacuum without affecting anybody else, they have no understanding of how social costs are... well... social.
Several european countries (with the scandinavians pretty far in the lead) are moving as many government services as possible online in order to save on paperwork and other costs. However, especially in Denmark, they observed that this leads to the problem of the elderly and other subgroups not having proper access to those services, or the adequate ability to use the tools necessary to interact with public services.
This is increasingly going to be an issue in countries where you can't, for instance, pay your taxes without online, and universal access, if it proves cheaper than the amount saved by streamlining other services, is clearly the way to go.
I heard this same anecdote from Hawking himself when he visited Chile a few years ago.
I'm reminded of a story Carl Sagan used to tell. He once asked the pope (John Paul II, of course) what he would do if some scientific discovery proved once and for all and irrefutably that the precepts of Christianity were false. The pope lectured him for a few minutes about how this wasn't possible.
Sagan once asked the Dalai Lama the exact same thing. The Lama's answer?
"I would tell the world, of course! There are millions of buddhists in the world and if I find out their all wrong, I should tell them as soon as possible, and we should look for a better way to live then.
I remember reading a UNDP report a while back on the development of countries in Africa. The researchers observed that the international market prices of commodities such as coffee or sugar were higher then than at any time in the past, and yet in the last few years the prices payed to the small farmers was at its lowest point in the past 60 years.
The reason for this apparent contradiction was the fact that small farmers can't sell their wares directly to the final consumer who brews coffee at home. Rather, this coffee is bought up by one of a handful of multinationals, who because they are so few, more or less dictate prices to the farmers, and then sell it on to the consumers. The fact that there are few of these middle men puts them in a position of power which allows them to make off with the king's share of the profits, and indeed they absorb the price hikes.
Maybe its time musicians got together and set up an electronic coop to sell their music the way farmers sometimes set up "farmers markets". They could have more control over their prices, and how much of what consumers pay goes to them.
Shouldn't the internet be making it easier to cut out the middle man like this?
Every time Google's bots crawl by your post and index it they sneer in disdain at you puny server count, and marvel at the fact that in its infinite goodness has allowed you to live in spite of the fact you clearly don't deserve to exist in the same world as google.
Balanced, intelligent, and timely commentary on a subject which normaly just brings out the trolls and the most ignorant and vulgar element in slashdot. I have now well and truely seen everything and can die in peace!
A brief run on google show the text of your article in varios "conspiracy theory" type sites, but nothing shows up on AP or other news sources quoting AP. I'm not saying the story is made up, only that it doesn't look good.
Could you maybe provide us with some link to the original source (AP) or another media outlet which used AP's story, or some evidence that such news sources have been "sanitized"?
I think we all realize there is a common thread in all of these issues regarding blogs, myspace, et al. It is that there are cases where people have cast something out to the internet and wish they could rein it in again. Obviously they can't, but what about obscuring it and making it harder to find? Is there some way to populate google's results with new stuff about yourself so as to bury the embarassing content?
Slashdot Mirror
You think this isn't standard in an administration which lied to start an illegal war and bullied its allies about it?
Bending the laws on torture Bending the laws on surveillance No-bid contracts Lying about weapons of mass destruction Humiliating yourself in Irak Bullying you allies over Irak Kidnapping foreign citizens Extraordinary rendition Guantanamo America, how we have loved you, and how you have fallen
I agree with the parent on this 100%. I would seriously consider several Compal models, they are some of the best notebooks I have ever seen. If you live in Europe have a look at Zepto computers. I bought my last ntbk in Denmark and have been extremely pleased with it.
You're absolutely right, but this happens a lot with US arms exports which are normally crippled (on purpose) and have poor post sale support. This is done on purpose by the americans to maintain greater leverage in influencing politics in different regions. It's not what you would expect from a good ally, but it is a clever strategy.
Another example of this are F-16's sold to Chile recently. The codes and procedures for the onboard computers where not provided, something the other models which competed for the bid offered. In the end Chile chose the "bad" option of buying the F16's because it buckled to US pressure. If a war breaks out, and the US doesn't support Chile's stance, they're screwed.
This means US systems are usually a bad option to buy. They may be very good systems when the americans use them, but you won't get the full spectrum of features, but the decision to buy weapons is made at a very high level in governments and usually factors in other elements, like US goodwill to some other policy objective, so these are not necessarily irrational choices.
You are absolutely right. It's interesting to compare what the French and Americans spend on their healthcare systems. In the US we are spending 16% of our GNP and have 46 million people without any form of insurance (and of those who do have insurance, a lot of it is worthless when it really counts).
In France, however, they are spending 10% of GNP on a system which covers everyone and routinely outperforms what we have in the US.
More FUD to watch out for is the crap about lines and impossible waiting times. I've spent a total of two years in France, including two months in the hospital with a pretty nasty pneumonia. The staff was always courteous and competent. This is at the same time my compatriots were all bashing surrender monkeys and feeling clever.
It seems to me Apple are trying to create an elite product people will aspire to own, and plans to capitalize on that position when they introduce cheaper versions with more limited features, kind of like ipod minis and shuffles really hitch a ride on the demand for "full blown" ipods.
HELLO
Yeah... has that "I am the terminator" ring to it, doesn't it?
is that Ken Starr needs a blowjob.
Exactly. The tragedy of this whole issue is that other rare and endangered languages won't be used for software localizations if this makes such translations expensive.
Yeah... you wouldn't be able to pay for my services with your own services most of the time... but maybe your wife/girlfriend and I can work something out...
I was about to say the same thing about France, but will add this as a reply here. I worked in France for some time and remember the same rights being effective there, and having them printed on a lot of things you sign to when you hand someone information (when ordering something or whatever). I remember being impressed that the system seemed to work there and be respected, at least most of the time, though I'm sure there are exceptions.
It is interesting to note that while a lot of restrictions are in place on the kind of information private companies can obtain and store about you, making France one of the most privacy conscious countries in the world as far as commerce is concerned, the opposite is true about their intelligence services. Though laws protect certain professions from snooping (journalists, judges, and the like), if you're an ordinary person, they can know pretty much everything about you with little oversight.
This being slashdot, I though more people would be using electric shavers. In fact, I thought the Philishave Coolskin shavers would be the ultimate in geek shaving gear.
For the record, I use a philishave electric razor myself...
This is obvious flamebait, but I'll bite anyway. The key words in my original post are "transparent" and "democratic".
I couldn't agree with you more
It's also worth pointing out that in a system of socialized or largely socialized healthcare, in a democratic and transparent state (like you have in the scandinavian countries), the state has an incentive in promoting a healthy lifestyle for its citizens, and they have a stake in keeping the healthcare system from bein overburdened. It isn't surprising, then, that the most agressive anti-tobacco campaigns in Europe were launched in Sweden before being imitated by other governments.
Of course, many libertarians will tell you that you have a right to pay for you own unhealthy behavior, which is true to a point, but if they believe your health exists entirely in a vacuum without affecting anybody else, they have no understanding of how social costs are... well... social.
"...other purposes such as HD-VoD..."
You mean porn.
This comment has just been posted and hasn't been modded yet. I'm curious to see if "Funny" or "Informative" will win the day...
Several european countries (with the scandinavians pretty far in the lead) are moving as many government services as possible online in order to save on paperwork and other costs. However, especially in Denmark, they observed that this leads to the problem of the elderly and other subgroups not having proper access to those services, or the adequate ability to use the tools necessary to interact with public services.
This is increasingly going to be an issue in countries where you can't, for instance, pay your taxes without online, and universal access, if it proves cheaper than the amount saved by streamlining other services, is clearly the way to go.
I heard this same anecdote from Hawking himself when he visited Chile a few years ago.
I'm reminded of a story Carl Sagan used to tell. He once asked the pope (John Paul II, of course) what he would do if some scientific discovery proved once and for all and irrefutably that the precepts of Christianity were false. The pope lectured him for a few minutes about how this wasn't possible.
Sagan once asked the Dalai Lama the exact same thing. The Lama's answer?
"I would tell the world, of course! There are millions of buddhists in the world and if I find out their all wrong, I should tell them as soon as possible, and we should look for a better way to live then.
Very different mindset.
I remember reading a UNDP report a while back on the development of countries in Africa. The researchers observed that the international market prices of commodities such as coffee or sugar were higher then than at any time in the past, and yet in the last few years the prices payed to the small farmers was at its lowest point in the past 60 years.
The reason for this apparent contradiction was the fact that small farmers can't sell their wares directly to the final consumer who brews coffee at home. Rather, this coffee is bought up by one of a handful of multinationals, who because they are so few, more or less dictate prices to the farmers, and then sell it on to the consumers. The fact that there are few of these middle men puts them in a position of power which allows them to make off with the king's share of the profits, and indeed they absorb the price hikes.
Maybe its time musicians got together and set up an electronic coop to sell their music the way farmers sometimes set up "farmers markets". They could have more control over their prices, and how much of what consumers pay goes to them.
Shouldn't the internet be making it easier to cut out the middle man like this?
Every time Google's bots crawl by your post and index it they sneer in disdain at you puny server count, and marvel at the fact that in its infinite goodness has allowed you to live in spite of the fact you clearly don't deserve to exist in the same world as google.
Of course, mounting your kill is perfectly acceptable.
You pervert! These are lawyers were talking about!
Balanced, intelligent, and timely commentary on a subject which normaly just brings out the trolls and the most ignorant and vulgar element in slashdot. I have now well and truely seen everything and can die in peace!
A brief run on google show the text of your article in varios "conspiracy theory" type sites, but nothing shows up on AP or other news sources quoting AP. I'm not saying the story is made up, only that it doesn't look good.
Could you maybe provide us with some link to the original source (AP) or another media outlet which used AP's story, or some evidence that such news sources have been "sanitized"?
I think we all realize there is a common thread in all of these issues regarding blogs, myspace, et al. It is that there are cases where people have cast something out to the internet and wish they could rein it in again. Obviously they can't, but what about obscuring it and making it harder to find? Is there some way to populate google's results with new stuff about yourself so as to bury the embarassing content?