I am very picky with new music that I purchase. There just isn't enough of it out there to make a subscription model work for me. I would rather purchase CDs, and rip and resell them. I can usually do so for about $4 per CD. I know it's probably not entirely legal. But it's much harder for them to catch me if I don't share everything online (which I don't).
I would much rather the money go to a corporation than the State. Corporations make their money from voluntary consumer purchases, while the State obviously doesn't...
If it was up to Congress, it would be. They recently passed laws making it illegal to make credit card payments to gambling sites. I played heavily online (poker stars) for over a year until I got tired of it. I decided I enjoy playing in person much more. Try setting up an "in person" poker room business in the United States - very illegal, unless you are doing it for charity purposes.
You know it's funny... one of the arguments I've heard for legalizing gambling is that the state could then tax it. As if giving more money to politicians is a good thing. I'm not sure how much Nevada keeps from your winnings but I'm sure it's pretty damn high. My state of Ohio recently passed some laws cracking down on slot machines. Although they aren't exactly my thing, it's sad to see that we are actually moving even further away from freedom. The whole reason I play poker in the first place is because I feel I have an edge over the odds from reading people and only playing solid hands. Even if I lose, there is still entertainment value in hanging out with the guys (and girls) from work once a month. Much more people waste more money on I do on much more frivolous things.
A single dollar in MegaMillions purchases a 1 in 175,711,536 chance of landing the jackpot... a player stands a mildly better chance of winning a partial prize through the selection of weighted numbers.
As an amateur poker player, I'd say I have a better chance of winning the world series of poker. There is absolutely no reason for the lottery to be the only form of legal gambling, while poker remains illegal. Other than the states want to maintain their monopoly on gambling. God forbid I should spend $30 on a tournament buy-in, while someone down the street buys 30 legal lottery tickets. Especially since I have a pretty good shot at making more than my $30 back.
Well, the quoted article from the other response to me said that's what they did... though I suppose it could be that that's just what they claimed they did. Call me crazy, but that's probably what I would do if I was designing an application for my users. I would definitely want to go and find out what I can about my target audience, and then take into account the best way to reach the most people on whatever budget I have. As far as your example goes though, yeah I agree that podcasts would definitely be a good way to reach people across platforms.
Sounds like an interesting book, I'll see if the library has it the next time I'm there. Thanks for the recommendation.
I know it's OT, but I don't support the troops because they are knowingly killing innocent people who didn't attack them. They each made a decision to be part of an army bent on foreign conquest... how could they actually think they are "defending america"? Let alone defending themselves from personal attack? They are enabling Bush's disasterous foreign policy. What could he really do if they all refused to fight in Iraq?
Why he would expect a large number of Linux-based visitors to the site when the media downloads are Windows XP only is not clear.
My guess is that they checked their logs before they created the application, and decided that the small portion of linux users on their site didn't justify the extra development costs of multi platform support. Of course, I didn't RTFA so I could be wrong on that.
It goes to demonstrate that the government needs conflict in order to survive and increase their power. I've heard a lot of great things about Robert Higgs' book "CRISIS AND LEVIATHAN: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government" which discusses this aspect in detail. Maybe there really was some kind of threat from communism before it imploded on itself. Whether there was or not, the federal government sure used it as an opportunity to increase it's hand in the pie of our economy. Just look at all the powers we have given up to them since terrorism became all the rage in the world. Strangely enough, I don't feel any safer now than I did in 2000. Actually, we are probably less safe.
What about VoIP? I could see it posing a real challenge to the cartels in the near future. There are some pretty nifty attempts at wifi skype phones out there from Belkin and Netgear. There's still some issues with them, but as wifi becomes more prevalent, I could definitely see it as being a real solution in the near future. Personally, I am almost always near a hotspot when I am at work or at home or visit a friend's. Sure you wouldn't have it on highways or anything, but I don't even use my cell while driving anyway.
You can't say that a failed state is anarchy because people haven't had time to adjust to the new situation. It is very silly to apply the confusion and chaos that come from people's reliance on monopolistic force that is suddenly taken away from them. It is an inherent example of why statism is less stable than anarchy. Every state fails at some point and causes confusion and chaos.
How exactly are German robber barons an example of anarchy? At any rate, here's a bit about the American robber barons you might find interesting: http://www.mises.org/story/2317
And the mob example is actually a very good example of how violence is caused by arbitrary state restriction of goods, which causes black markets to appear, along with gangs to protect those markets.
I agree there that for anarchy to work there will obviously have to be a change in the way people think. People used to tolerate divine kings as their rulers. They began to get tired of that, so they instituted democracy (elected rulers). I can't see any reason why people won't eventually get tired of elected rulers, and begin to resist any attempts to rule whatsoever.
I get what you're saying, but since Apple has switched to mostly commodity hardware that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue anymore. Now if you're using a whole bunch of custom hardware, I don't see why you'd want to install it in the first place. But if you are simply doing mundane office tasks, why is it such a problem?
Anyway, it seems like it would be fun to try but I am too lazy to install a whole nother OS just to give it a whirl, especially if it doesn't have wifi support. The last time I tried Ubuntu, I couldn't get wifi working either. I'll just stick with what I know for now...
Could you please point me to some history books where anarchy has bread oppression, or where absence of rulers turned into despotism? I would appreciate it. Thanks-
p.s. I would not consider the aftermath of a collapse of a state to be anarchy.
And once those leaders have followers, what's stopping them from using those followers to enforce their will on others ?
Lots of individuals with guns who don't want to be bossed around.
What happens at the absence of central government is that some people accumulate enough power to become local warlords and begin fighting for power amongst themselves. The end result of that is civil war, followed by military dictatorship. It has happened every last time central authority has collapsed.
And the point of democracy is not majority rule, but making the rulers easily replaceable. This, in turn, makes them accountable for their actions to those they rule, or so the theory goes anyway. Of course it doesn't always work, and almost never really well, but we have no better method of rulership right now.
This is the problem with US democracy - the rulers aren't easily replaceable, because our system rewards districts with representatives who keep getting re-elected. And even if they are replaced, so what? What's the difference if Joe steals your property one day, then Bob the next? Isn't your property still getting stolen?
In an earlier post you linked to Wikipedia, giving the impression that you advocate anarcho-capitalism. Surely you realize that in such a system results in all power being concentrated in the hands of those who own lots of property, since doing away with the state does away with the only entity capable of putting any limits on their actions;
Yes, I do consider myself to be an anarcho-capitalist. The state does an absolutely terrible job of putting limits on people's actions. Especially if they have political power or well-heeled connections to people in power. Secondly, the state is most certainly not the only entity that could potentially restrict people's actions. And thirdly, the state we have now is what puts people in power who own lots of property.
what's stopping them from crowning themselves God-Kings and killing anyone who doesn't obey their every last whim?
Absolutely nothing... and what's to stop this from happening right now? Absolutely nothing. There must be some reason more than fear of the state that most people don't go around killing others every day.
I'd argue that it's definitely more stable than the state, which tends to break down every few years. Obviously there will have to be a change in the way people think before it will happen. States only have power because people let them. Voluntary societies can still have leaders.
I don't give a rat's ass about democracy. I care about freedom. Democracy is merely a means to an end.
I don't give a rat's ass about democracy either, because majority rule is not freedom. Nor is it a means to freedom. I believe the absence of rulers, including elected rulers, is the basis of true freedom.
Yeah, I got an N800 a couple of months ago after reading quite a bit of reviews and wondering whether I should wait for the eee. But the bottom line for me was that I already had a laptop, and I wanted something just like the N800 that I wouldn't have to lug around. And that I can use it as a wifi skype phone pretty much sold me on it. It was very useful on my recent trip to NYC. I could literally throw it in my jacket pocket and take it around with me to the museums and such. Try doing that with any laptop... even the eee.
This is a fine example of critical thinking being rewarded. In their heart of hearts, Corporations only want people to understand the benefits of their products.
Yep, of course it's all the evil corporations fault for wanting us to buy their products.
That's why I usually wait for awhile until a good number of actual user reviews get published. And you can usually find them in forums after googling around for the product number a bit. Amazon is also very helpful in reading user reviews. I bought the N800 in part after reading such good user reviews on it, and I haven't been disappointed with it at all.
And how 'bout those Rockies??!! Are they choke central, or what?
No, that would be the Indians. At least the Rockies had the excuse of having to wait too long to play. Cleveland will always be choke central for all pro sports. Even the Buckeyes choked in the National Championship game last year. Maybe I need to find a new state... anyways... what were we talking about again?
Yep... is anyone really surprised by this? And they wonder why more people don't vote in this country. Crap like this is why I am a non-voting anarchist. As far as I can tell, this only makes my position look better. Too bad we can't vote the FBI out of a job. The rule of law means absolutely nothing to these people. Nor does basic human rights/treatment. I suspect this is only the tip of an iceberg. Of course, that is only my long jaded self talking.
So my options... get a dish. Wait until Verizon rolls out FIOS TV in my neighborhood (they laid the cable this summer, but are dragging their feet on FIOS installs) and see if they're better. Shell out $800 + $12.95 a month for a dual tuner HD TiVO with Cable Card. I'm currently pinning my hopes on the second option. But when Verizon gets off their asses Comcast loses my $1800 a year for cable TV and cable internet.
Why not get an over the air HD antenna? I got one with a Samsung set top box for my HD tv and it's great. With a crappy radio shack antenna I get all the networks in glorious HD, along with PBS. I was just watching the Red Sox/Indians game last night and it looked great.
I don't need HDNET or any of those other HD networks. I get movies from Netflix, so no need to pay for HBO-HD or any of that crap. Once they come out with a high definition dvd player that will play both formats, I'll spring for one of those rather than going back to HD movies from cable.
Now my cable bill will only be like $55/month rather than the $115 I was paying for internet and HD service. Now I am only paying Time Warner for internet access and that's it. Screw the triple pay... it's not worth it. The only thing I really miss is having ESPN in HD, but for me it's a small price to pay for cable TV freedom. The only way I will ever pay for cable tv again is if they start offering an inexpensive HD only package or ala carte.
BTW, since I still have internet access from Time Warner, I can get the regular cable TV channels if I just plug it in directly to the TV. They don't block it or anything. I think it's the same way with most cable companies.
I couldn't agree with your post more. On top of all that, I can make very cheap calls with skype out when I visit the parents. And I don't have to pay expensive data rates just to browse.
Yeah, but the precise reason I got an N800 is because I don't want to pay through the ass for the data rates of 3G (or an iPhone). Yes 3G is nice, but quite honestly I don't need internet access every waking minute of my life, wherever I am. I am quite happy to have access when there is a wifi spot close by.
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I am very picky with new music that I purchase. There just isn't enough of it out there to make a subscription model work for me. I would rather purchase CDs, and rip and resell them. I can usually do so for about $4 per CD. I know it's probably not entirely legal. But it's much harder for them to catch me if I don't share everything online (which I don't).
I would much rather the money go to a corporation than the State. Corporations make their money from voluntary consumer purchases, while the State obviously doesn't...
If it was up to Congress, it would be. They recently passed laws making it illegal to make credit card payments to gambling sites. I played heavily online (poker stars) for over a year until I got tired of it. I decided I enjoy playing in person much more. Try setting up an "in person" poker room business in the United States - very illegal, unless you are doing it for charity purposes.
You know it's funny... one of the arguments I've heard for legalizing gambling is that the state could then tax it. As if giving more money to politicians is a good thing. I'm not sure how much Nevada keeps from your winnings but I'm sure it's pretty damn high. My state of Ohio recently passed some laws cracking down on slot machines. Although they aren't exactly my thing, it's sad to see that we are actually moving even further away from freedom. The whole reason I play poker in the first place is because I feel I have an edge over the odds from reading people and only playing solid hands. Even if I lose, there is still entertainment value in hanging out with the guys (and girls) from work once a month. Much more people waste more money on I do on much more frivolous things.
Is that a nanotube radio in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
(Sorry, just had to...)
Well, the quoted article from the other response to me said that's what they did... though I suppose it could be that that's just what they claimed they did. Call me crazy, but that's probably what I would do if I was designing an application for my users. I would definitely want to go and find out what I can about my target audience, and then take into account the best way to reach the most people on whatever budget I have. As far as your example goes though, yeah I agree that podcasts would definitely be a good way to reach people across platforms.
Sounds like an interesting book, I'll see if the library has it the next time I'm there. Thanks for the recommendation.
I know it's OT, but I don't support the troops because they are knowingly killing innocent people who didn't attack them. They each made a decision to be part of an army bent on foreign conquest... how could they actually think they are "defending america"? Let alone defending themselves from personal attack? They are enabling Bush's disasterous foreign policy. What could he really do if they all refused to fight in Iraq?
It goes to demonstrate that the government needs conflict in order to survive and increase their power. I've heard a lot of great things about Robert Higgs' book "CRISIS AND LEVIATHAN: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government" which discusses this aspect in detail. Maybe there really was some kind of threat from communism before it imploded on itself. Whether there was or not, the federal government sure used it as an opportunity to increase it's hand in the pie of our economy. Just look at all the powers we have given up to them since terrorism became all the rage in the world. Strangely enough, I don't feel any safer now than I did in 2000. Actually, we are probably less safe.
What about VoIP? I could see it posing a real challenge to the cartels in the near future. There are some pretty nifty attempts at wifi skype phones out there from Belkin and Netgear. There's still some issues with them, but as wifi becomes more prevalent, I could definitely see it as being a real solution in the near future. Personally, I am almost always near a hotspot when I am at work or at home or visit a friend's. Sure you wouldn't have it on highways or anything, but I don't even use my cell while driving anyway.
You can't say that a failed state is anarchy because people haven't had time to adjust to the new situation. It is very silly to apply the confusion and chaos that come from people's reliance on monopolistic force that is suddenly taken away from them. It is an inherent example of why statism is less stable than anarchy. Every state fails at some point and causes confusion and chaos.
In regards to the not so wild west:
http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/3_1/3_1_2.pdf
How exactly are German robber barons an example of anarchy? At any rate, here's a bit about the American robber barons you might find interesting:
http://www.mises.org/story/2317
And the mob example is actually a very good example of how violence is caused by arbitrary state restriction of goods, which causes black markets to appear, along with gangs to protect those markets. I agree there that for anarchy to work there will obviously have to be a change in the way people think. People used to tolerate divine kings as their rulers. They began to get tired of that, so they instituted democracy (elected rulers). I can't see any reason why people won't eventually get tired of elected rulers, and begin to resist any attempts to rule whatsoever.
I get what you're saying, but since Apple has switched to mostly commodity hardware that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue anymore. Now if you're using a whole bunch of custom hardware, I don't see why you'd want to install it in the first place. But if you are simply doing mundane office tasks, why is it such a problem?
Anyway, it seems like it would be fun to try but I am too lazy to install a whole nother OS just to give it a whirl, especially if it doesn't have wifi support. The last time I tried Ubuntu, I couldn't get wifi working either. I'll just stick with what I know for now...
Could you please point me to some history books where anarchy has bread oppression, or where absence of rulers turned into despotism? I would appreciate it. Thanks-
p.s. I would not consider the aftermath of a collapse of a state to be anarchy.
I'd argue that it's definitely more stable than the state, which tends to break down every few years. Obviously there will have to be a change in the way people think before it will happen. States only have power because people let them. Voluntary societies can still have leaders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy:_The_God_That_Failed
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul233.html
Yeah, I got an N800 a couple of months ago after reading quite a bit of reviews and wondering whether I should wait for the eee. But the bottom line for me was that I already had a laptop, and I wanted something just like the N800 that I wouldn't have to lug around. And that I can use it as a wifi skype phone pretty much sold me on it. It was very useful on my recent trip to NYC. I could literally throw it in my jacket pocket and take it around with me to the museums and such. Try doing that with any laptop... even the eee.
Now if they would just extend it to all commerce and income...
Yep... is anyone really surprised by this? And they wonder why more people don't vote in this country. Crap like this is why I am a non-voting anarchist. As far as I can tell, this only makes my position look better. Too bad we can't vote the FBI out of a job. The rule of law means absolutely nothing to these people. Nor does basic human rights/treatment. I suspect this is only the tip of an iceberg. Of course, that is only my long jaded self talking.
Why not get an over the air HD antenna? I got one with a Samsung set top box for my HD tv and it's great. With a crappy radio shack antenna I get all the networks in glorious HD, along with PBS. I was just watching the Red Sox/Indians game last night and it looked great.
I don't need HDNET or any of those other HD networks. I get movies from Netflix, so no need to pay for HBO-HD or any of that crap. Once they come out with a high definition dvd player that will play both formats, I'll spring for one of those rather than going back to HD movies from cable.
Now my cable bill will only be like $55/month rather than the $115 I was paying for internet and HD service. Now I am only paying Time Warner for internet access and that's it. Screw the triple pay... it's not worth it. The only thing I really miss is having ESPN in HD, but for me it's a small price to pay for cable TV freedom. The only way I will ever pay for cable tv again is if they start offering an inexpensive HD only package or ala carte.
BTW, since I still have internet access from Time Warner, I can get the regular cable TV channels if I just plug it in directly to the TV. They don't block it or anything. I think it's the same way with most cable companies.
I couldn't agree with your post more. On top of all that, I can make very cheap calls with skype out when I visit the parents. And I don't have to pay expensive data rates just to browse.
Yeah, but the precise reason I got an N800 is because I don't want to pay through the ass for the data rates of 3G (or an iPhone). Yes 3G is nice, but quite honestly I don't need internet access every waking minute of my life, wherever I am. I am quite happy to have access when there is a wifi spot close by.