sorry to burst your bubble.... Greenland was named so because Leif Erickson was trying to promote it as a nice place for people to move to. It was as icy then as it is now..... (or do you think that Iceland was only named 20 years ago?)
Of course the issue of volcanoes and global warming is a strange one. I just read some studies which links volcanic activity to global cooling, and a lack of same to global warming. weird shit, really.
Illuminati, Hackers, Dork Tower, Chez Geek (and its other parts), Munchkin (of all types), Knightmare Chess, Burn in Hell, Ninja Burger, SPANC, Battle Cattle, HeroQuest, In Nominee, Toon, and many others.
Personally, I have had TONS of fun playing Illuminati, Chez Geek, Munchkin, Ninja Burger, and one frankly bizzare all-night Toon game 10+ years ago at a con.
If you love science and space technology, then you should support NASA and Manned space flight.
The problem with our government budget is that it is relatively sedentary. If you get $1 billion this year, you'll probably get $1 billion next year, though you might get $1.1 billion or $0.9 billion. Programs don't get skipped from year to year. they are either funded, or cut.
The US Federal budget for 2006 has as its top 4 Net Outlays the following:
1) Department of Health and Human Services, $641 billion 2) Social Security Administration, $592 billion 3) Department of Defense - Military, $512 billion 4) Department of the Treasury, $452 billion.
The next few: 5) Department of Agriculture, $96 billion 6) Department of Education, $84 billion 7) Department of Veterans Affairs, $70 billion 8) Department of Homeland Security, $67 billion 9) Office of Personnel Management, $63 billion 10) Department of Transportation, $61 billion 11) Department of Labor, $51 billion 12) Department of Housing and Urban Development, $47 billion 13) Other Defense Civil Programs, $46 billion
Then the relatively smaller stuff ($10 - 25 billion) 14) Department of Justice, $22 billion 15) Department of Energy, $22 billion 16) International Assistance Programs, $16 billion 17) NASA, $16 billion 18) Department of State, $14 billion 19) Other independent Agencies, $13 billion
And the rest: 20) Department of the Interior, $9 billion 21) EPA, $8 billion 22) Corps of Engineers, $7 billion 23) Executive Office of the President, $7 billion 24) Department of Commerce, $6 billion 25) Judicial Branch, $6 billion 26) NSF, $6 billion 27) Railroad Retirement Board, $5 billion 28) Legislative Branch, $4 billion 29) Postal Service, $1.5 billion (note that this is their net loss for the year) 30) Small Business Administration, $1.2 billion 31) GSA $0.4 billion
lastly there are those 2 branches which Make money: 32) FDIC, $-0.9 billion 33) Export-Import Bank, $-1.8 billion
Now, these are all 2006 figures, and though most will be the same next year, there are some cuts for 2007: $3 billion in agriculture, $8 billion in Military, $23 billion to DHS (33% of the total budget), and others. NASA is looking at a modest rais of $800 million, and NSF will get an additional $70 million.
Now that the facts are out of the way, on to my opinions. In my opinion there is a huge problem in our federal budget. 1) WAY too much spending in places like the Department of Agriculture, HUD, Education, and Health and Human Services. 2) WAY WAY too little spending by the NSF. 3) International Assistance Program budget should be controlled by the State Department. (Damnit, we have diplomats, we should be using them to give out goodies to other countries.)
The reason, (IMNSHO) that the NSF is traditionally underfunded is because it gives money out for science that isn't "Politically Correct". Its far easier to build more bombers or dump more into Healthcare or FBI Agents than it is to allow funding for Cosmolagical research into the Big Bang, or Stem cell research, or even Cancer research or AIDS research. No one loses a campaign on "We hired 20,000 teachers". But you can on "We funded research into the effects of school prayer on laboratory rats."
anyway....
one more thing: The goverment took in the following in 2005:
Individual Income taxes: $927 billion Corporate Income Taxes: $278 billion Social Security Insurance: $217 billion (on budget) Excise Taxes: $73 billion Estate Taxes: $25 billion Customs Duties: $23 billion Other recipts: $33 billion
actually, you are right and he distorted your answer. You stated, "images" and he changed it to "names". there's a HUGE issue.
Even more important is intent. If I write a book about a guy who happens to live in a world and practice the craft of war, I'm not infringing on anyone's copyright. Reviews are protected as well, along with opinions. So I can tell everyone what I think of World of Warcraft. How to books, however are not. If I want to publish a how-to on model railroading, that's fine too, as long as I discuss all types, even if I show images of all types including Lionel trains. If I want to publish a how-to only about Lionel toy trains, I had better at least contact Lionel first.
Its not as if Blizzard are truly evil here. The guy is suing Blizzard for getting him yanked off of EBay. I'm sure that if he had gone to Blizzard in the first place and offered them $0.50 per book then we wouldn't be reading this. But, no, he rushes to sue. sue sue sue.
I think the issue in this case is very simple. Since Ebay representatives reviewed the patents, then infringed upon them, they should pay the damages. Now, obviously, Ebay should not be run out of business, nor forced to shut down, even temporarily. But, as is true with most litigation, its already been 3 years since the judge ruled that Ebay should pay up and they haven't, so an injunction in this case is warrented.
Basically, this guys business got trampled. It was probably dead anyway, and he's not the smartest guy in the world, nor the best business man. After all, it took him 5 years from having the idea to getting it up in the first case, and once up, it bombed like so many other dot com companies. So, the relatively minor $30+ million reward makes some sense. It would barely cover the cost of the lawyers (who are undoubtably taking a percentage) and might pay off his venture capitalists. He'll walk away with nothing regardless (except maybe a slightly better credit rating).
I think that Ebay could have offered him $5 million for the patents in 2000 and he'd have been much better off. (which, according to the article, was exactly what he wanted to do....) I think that in this case, some lawyer said to the EBay management, "Its cheaper to bury this guy than pay him off...." And THAT's a bad thing.
especially since a good portion of actual R&D is going on in our nations universities and university hospitals. In those cases, the drug company provides grants to college graduate students in BIO chemistry departments (and piddly grants too, $4 and 5 million dollars, which is HUGE money to a graduate school). Then these students (who are often making minimum wage level "stipends") come up with the drugs which are then handed back to the drug company to profit on. So the order is:
1) Take profits from last drug. 2) Give 0.01% of profit to create next drug spread among several university research departments. 3) Spend 1% of profit from last drug to convince hospitals to perform various drug trials. 4) spend 10% of profit from last drug to get FDA approval for the new drug 5) spend 50% of profit to market new drug 6) PROFIT!!!!!!
(note the absence of the obligitory ???? since there's no mystery involved)
IIRC, the term trimester is not a legal term, but a medical term. at least that was implied by the doctors who handled my WIFE*'s several pregnancies**.
Ira
* for those of you don't understand this term, it refers to a female partner withwhom you have signed a life-long contract (known as Marriage), not to be confused with other life-long contracts, like purchasing a cat, or using a Macintosh.
** pregnancies sometimes occur when a man has unprotected sex with a woman. This sex, while lots of fun, also can produce little baby geeks for the next version of Slashdot.
The problem here is that small IP holders are already frozen out due to he difficulties of navigating the patent system. what we have left are battles between Patent holding companies and Software manufacturers.
Its not like I can run down to the local patent office and patent my idea for a new web-based e-commerce ui design and then start suing people left and right. I can't because it would be 2 years before I can get my idea patented and 5 min before its invalidated because I didn't hire the team of lawyers to carefully craft the patent paperwork to include things I didn't think of but are similar to the things I did. If instead, I had $5 million and a crusty old Wang developer to sign on I could then do whatever I wanted.....
they didn't need a stable economy to launch nuclear weapons at me. all they needed was a stable military infrastructure. which they still had in 1981, and in 1989. But not in 1991 or 1999.
Which is irrelevant to the point that they were nowhere near the level of threat as they were supposed to be at that time.
Ok, oracle. when did the soviet union cease being a threat to the United States of America? 1973? 1965? 1950? 1945? or 1917? And what level of economic stabilization is required to launch nuclear missiles which will turn this country into a big glass crater and extinguish life from the rest of the planet? When were they no longer capable of that? Or do you believe that they were never capable of it?
You are saying that these are linked? Sorry, but I'm going to need, if not proof, at least some rationale for why you think that the fall of the soviet union has anything to do with islamic fundamentalism.
The fall of the Soviet Union isn't what is linked to these. The policies of the Reagan administration were a very direct cause of these.
ah, so Reagan founded islamic fundamentalism. I understand now.....
It was a joke to some, but not others. In many ways it was a huge intelligence coup. Reports of SDI successes were way overblown and leaked to various KGB sources which made the Kremlin think that it was viable, when some of the ideas for it were pretty ludicrous at best.
Seems like that is pretty far fetched. It was a joke to pretty much everyone I ever talked to except the people pushing the crazy idea that it would work, of course. Their main goal was wasting tax dollars though, so I never put much faith into their babblings.
so, who, as an 11 year old, did you know who had intimate knowledge of the SDI program which wasn't christened until a year later.
You, of course, are an ass.
It's certainly been said before, but I'm really not sure what I said in this conversation to provoke that.
I won't repeat what you said that provoked it, and I really don't want to talk about it anymore. Suffice to say, that anyone who's sig promotes the commission of a violent felony because of political party affiliation is an ass to me. I don't care who you are, Murder is Evil.
at 14, in 1981, I saw the Soviet Union as a threat.
Again with the what you thought back then;-)
that's the whole point. the rest is revisionist history.
As to whether this was a failing of intelligence departments or maliciousness, I don't think it was either. Even if we had concrete evidence of it, NO ONE would have believed it.
Nobody would have believed it because they had been told over and over what a tremendous threat they were. That's a self fulfilling prophecy.
they didn't need a stable economy to launch nuclear weapons at me. all they needed was a stable military infrastructure. which they still had in 1981, and in 1989. But not in 1991 or 1999.
many (including guys like Robert Heinlein) knew that their economy wasn't sustainable
Not sure where the Heinlein reference came from. Was there something specific you had in mind, or was the SciFi reference to get the thread back on topic (free broadband for all;-)
see his autobiography Grumbles from the Grave (the one published just after his death.
I do agree that SDI and the military buildup accelerated things and I feel, to this day that that was a VERY GOOD THING. The chaos in the region we have today, and have had over the last 15 years is a small price for bringing down 75 years of communism.
I, on the other hand, think that 9/11, the Taliban, Islamofascism, CIA involvement in the international cocaine trade, and the arming and training of the terrorists we're fighting now, and the massive expansion of the military industrial complex and the attendant promotion of violence all over the world make the price you mentioned not so small at all.
You are saying that these are linked? Sorry, but I'm going to need, if not proof, at least some rationale for why you think that the fall of the soviet union has anything to do with islamic fundamentalism.
. By convincing them that pretty soon launching nukes would do no good, we chopped 20 years off their ability to get their economy under control. In fact, I'd say without SDI and Reagan we'd still be talking about the Soviet Union in the present tense instead of the past tense.
Hardly. Star Wars was a joke then and it's not much better now. Although I did just read an article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs about the rise of American nuclear primacy which makes a good case that we're near if not already able to launch unanswered nuclear first strikes against Russia and/or China. SDI would only need to pick off a few stragglers if that. That however wasn't the situation then and nobody really believed it was useful at all.
Again, revisionist history. It was a joke to some, but not others. In many ways it was a huge intelligence coup. Reports of SDI successes were way overblown and leaked to various KGB sources which made the Kremlin think that it was viable, when some of the ideas for it were pretty ludicrous at best. One of my favorites was Edward Teller's plan of putting crystals on the outside of ICBM's then exploding them in space so that the bomb pumped lasers would incinerate the incoming ICBM's before they could reach their targets. Nevermind that it would involve thermonuclear bombs being exploded over the US.
The Soviet economy NEVER really worked. but it was bolstered by a) conquest and b) ruthlessness, and c) fear.
Which, of course, are three things that bolster our economy to this day. Our system has a much better base though. I'd say that the USSR's economy was basically propped up primarily by those while ours is bolstered by them.
You, of course, are an ass. Our economy is not bolstered by any of these. in many ways, these hinder our economy. Our economy is based on peace, industry, and commerce. If the US were to pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq
wow. that is screwed up. in the US, child support is based on a mans ability to pay. Which is why Barry Bonds pays more child support than Blarney Baodins who works down at the plant. And those payments don't change unless the man's income changes. In some ways that's just as screwed up. but it happens. And as far as the courts. well, that's based on the court. some courts are good, some bad. some fair, some crooked. but in general, US courts look very unkindly on people who ignore court orders. (re: will haul your ass in and throw you in jail).
First off, I will say that I have no experience with child support outside of the US.
that being said:
If not, then what she happens to do with the money sent is really not his business.
That's funny, I thought the money was child support, not, as it actually tends to much more accurately be, a de facto form of alimony. If she is short changing the child's welfare - note, not harming it - but doing everything within her power to ensure that the incoming funds are an increase to her disposable income, and not child support, I am curious as to how it is not the father's business.
Well, you are wrong. child support should really be called "family support". Its money being used to support a mans former family. that includes the ex-wife. Mostly its that part that pisses men off the most. I would bet that that is the exact reason that his ex-wife does it the way she does. The key is to simply ignore it. Or call CPS. or both.
as far as this nebulous "provide access to the child" the answer is, get scheduled visitation. Then, if she skips one, haul her ass into court. Having been on the other side of the fence (my wife's ex had visitation that was court ordered w/ child support that was NEVER paid, but we had to allow visitation anyway) I know that neither side enjoys it. The key is to stop the anger and hatred, as it is the most damaging thing to the kids.
well, I'm only 3 years older than you, at 14, in 1981, I saw the Soviet Union as a threat.
As to whether this was a failing of intelligence departments or maliciousness, I don't think it was either. Even if we had concrete evidence of it, NO ONE would have believed it. Sure, we knew about the bread lines and the like, and many (including guys like Robert Heinlein) knew that their economy wasn't sustainable, the general public felt that they were STILL a political threat. I think that the trigger for unfolding of that threat was neither SDI nor military buildup, but the Cherynobyl. Cherynobyl exposed the underlying weakness in their economic structure in a way that couldn't be papered over with Soviet propoganda.
I do agree that SDI and the military buildup accelerated things and I feel, to this day that that was a VERY GOOD THING. The chaos in the region we have today, and have had over the last 15 years is a small price for bringing down 75 years of communism. There's no way the Soviet Union break-up wouldn't cause chaos. the only question was whether someone would be desparate enough or stupid enough over there to start launching nukes at us. By convincing them that pretty soon launching nukes would do no good, we chopped 20 years off their ability to get their economy under control. In fact, I'd say without SDI and Reagan we'd still be talking about the Soviet Union in the present tense instead of the past tense. After all, the Sovent economy was shot in the 60's , and in the 40's, and in the 30's. The Soviet economy NEVER really worked. but it was bolstered by a) conquest and b) ruthlessness, and c) fear. When these three went away (no where left to conquer, Gorbachev really not that ruthless, and countries starting not to fear a country that couldn't even take over Afghanistan), collapse occured.
As I said earlier. Do I think that the USSR was running a healthy sustainable economy. No. but neither were they doing that in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. The difference was that they weren't spending 30% of their GDP on military spending.
They're coming for environmentalists? (um.... no. oh, and spiking trees is terrorism, as loggers get maimed even when trees aren't spiked. making their lives more dangerous is truly unnecessary)
Terrorism != (does not equal) crime. Spiking trees is a crime, not terrorism. IANAL, but I do believe it would be along the lines of Attempted Murder, Premeditated Murder, Manslaughter, etc.
terrorism is a crime. Terrorism is defined by:
The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
Second word there is "unlawful" Also, spiking trees is a crime. but its also terrorism. Its terrorism against loggers. Its designed to make lumberjacks afraid to cut down trees.
And its not like the NSA hasn't been listening in on domestic Telephone conversations ever since Ma Bell was a virgin.
No, the government has not been "listening in on domestic Telephone conversations ever since Ma Bell was a virgin." The government had to ask telphone companies for the ability to conduct wiretaps, it wasn't already built into their network when they designed it.
the government doesn't need to have a warrent to put the wiretap in. the wiretaps are there already. the point is that the government needs a warrent to USE the information gained from a wiretap.
on the last part. Never confuse fascism with outright incompetence.
Is the kid fed? is the kid housed? is the kid clothed and loved and get toys and the like as if it were in his home? is the kid abused in any way? If not, then what she happens to do with the money sent is really not his business. If he wasn't sending checks does that mean that the mother would drop the kid off with her parents to go see her new boyfriend? maybe she'd do it anyway and stop feeding the kid. Maybe this guy should communicate with his ex and have her drop the kid off at his place on weekends. (that is, if that's what he wants). Maybe he should go to court and ask for custody, or joint custody, or a reduction in payments.
The problem is that these stories are almost unilaterally false or at best hyperbole. If she knew she was getting a check each week then she wouldn't need to go to a travel agent after receiving a check. Also, child support checks arrive Monthly, and not weekly.
But hey, this is really straying from the point....
They're coming for muslims, but muslims are still citizens. Mosques are still houses of worship, and just as protected as Churches and Synogogues.
They're coming for the homosexuals, too. I think the worse curse for homosexual people would be for them to get married, but hey, if thats what they want, no government will stop them.
They're coming for abortion providers? ok....... I haven't heard about abortion clinics being raided by the police..... have you?
They're coming for environmentalists? (um.... no. oh, and spiking trees is terrorism, as loggers get maimed even when trees aren't spiked. making their lives more dangerous is truly unnecessary)
They're coming for leftist protesters? not that I've seen.
They are wiretapping private citizen's domestic telephone conversations. ok. fine. no, its not really fine. but unless they do something with the wiretapped conversations, so what? Are they going to come arrest me if I say, "Bush is a pig!!!!!" no. Are they going to arrest me if I say, "I've just put a bomb in the whitehouse!!!!" no. but they might check the whitehouse for bombs just in case. And its not like the NSA hasn't been listening in on domestic Telephone conversations ever since Ma Bell was a virgin.
They are restricting your right to free speech? how? If so, how come Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon haven't been imprisoned? How about Michael Moore? How about any number of celebreties who have publically bashed the current administration? What free speech is being restricted? RIAA? ok, I'll buy that one. but that's not a political problem, its an economic one, and if you think Clinton or Gore would stand up to the RIAA, you are truly joking.
They are rigging elections. There. There it is. 6 years have gone by and you still can't get it through your head that GORE LOST! he lost Florida. maybe he lost because a bunch of old people couldn't read a ballot or because of some dangling chads, or for some other reason but he LOST! Done! over! you had your chance to correct the problem in 2004 and GORE LOST AGAIN! So get over it. You don't like it, leave, or volunteer in your local district to be part of the voting process. Hell, run for office if you feel strongly about it.
Soon enough, they'll come for you, if you ever open your eyes. Keep em shut, agree with everything you're told to think, and you'll be "safe." Me, I'm safe. I've never contemplated the violent overthrow of the US Government (no mater who was in power). I've voted for independents, republicans, once for Mickey Mouse, (though that might have been on the state level). I've got a job, wife, house, kids, cars, and all that. I'm not gay, have never had an abortion (being male) nor forced another to (though I had one ex-girlfriend threaten me once, turns out she hadn't been pregnant). I've never done hard drugs, nor committed any crime beyond a traffic ticket. I'm safe, just like so many other people. I didn't have to work to be this way. I didn't have to hide a portion of my personality or my sexuality, or my political preference, or anything. I'm safe.
But I'm not blind either. You say they're coming, but I know they aren't. They aren't coming for the muslims, they aren't coming for the homosexuals, or the abortion providers, or the environmentalists, or leftist protestors or anyone else. They're coming for terrorists. If you aren't a terrorst, meaning you don't wish to cause others to fear you and die by your hand, then you too are safe. If they wiretapped my phone, they would hear a whole lot of boring conversations. Then they'd stop listening because they would realize that I'm not a threat. I would say that for every person with a slashdot account, this would be true as well. Except that one guy who's reading slashdot for the purposes of creating a biological agent that's spread at Gencon. or something stupid like that. Do I hate having to wait longer at airports to fly? sure, so does everyone else. I especially hated it when the "new" security measures were still under development and things were slow.
No indeed, they aren't coming. They are here. trying to keep your lousy ass safe. And they aren't going away.
As far as Dead beat dads go. Hang 'em. Hang 'em up by their testicals.
No, I'm not talking about those guys who have been screwed by the system (wife ran off with kids, refused to let them speak with them and demanded unreasonable support despite getting re-married to a millionaire.) I'm talking about the guy who runs out on his wife and kids, gets remarried, and decided that either 1) he has moved on and won't give his old wife and kids the time of day or penny one 2) He won't give his ex-wife any money unless he is absolutely sure that every penny goes to the kids.
There's a larger issue involving the various states family courts. Family courts are so screwed up that there's no fixing them. Corruption, Graft, bribery, incompetence, overwork, apathy, religious zeal, etc. The best solution is to not have kids unless you know the mind of the person you are having kids with. (not that that will work either).
Slashdot Mirror
Stairway to Heaven?
luddite.
don't you know. China doesn't pollute. after all, they are exempt from the Kyoto treaty. Maybe that's because they are a "developing" country.
Ira
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH
sorry to burst your bubble.... Greenland was named so because Leif Erickson was trying to promote it as a nice place for people to move to. It was as icy then as it is now..... (or do you think that Iceland was only named 20 years ago?)
Of course the issue of volcanoes and global warming is a strange one. I just read some studies which links volcanic activity to global cooling, and a lack of same to global warming. weird shit, really.
Ira
I can still get a nice Parrot down in Booty Bay. :)
Ira
And STILL no one takes my Gnome Warrior seriously.
Ira
Illuminati, Hackers, Dork Tower, Chez Geek (and its other parts), Munchkin (of all types), Knightmare Chess, Burn in Hell, Ninja Burger, SPANC, Battle Cattle, HeroQuest, In Nominee, Toon, and many others.
Personally, I have had TONS of fun playing Illuminati, Chez Geek, Munchkin, Ninja Burger, and one frankly bizzare all-night Toon game 10+ years ago at a con.
Ira
Delete your wow account, smash the disks, and for god sakes STOP MAKING FEMALE NIGHT ELF CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!! :)
Ira
If she's attached to your arm, you aren't doing it right.....
Ira
If you love science and space technology, then you should support NASA and Manned space flight.
1 000/www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy07/pdf/spec.pdf
The problem with our government budget is that it is relatively sedentary. If you get $1 billion this year, you'll probably get $1 billion next year, though you might get $1.1 billion or $0.9 billion. Programs don't get skipped from year to year. they are either funded, or cut.
The US Federal budget for 2006 has as its top 4 Net Outlays the following:
1) Department of Health and Human Services, $641 billion
2) Social Security Administration, $592 billion
3) Department of Defense - Military, $512 billion
4) Department of the Treasury, $452 billion.
The next few:
5) Department of Agriculture, $96 billion
6) Department of Education, $84 billion
7) Department of Veterans Affairs, $70 billion
8) Department of Homeland Security, $67 billion
9) Office of Personnel Management, $63 billion
10) Department of Transportation, $61 billion
11) Department of Labor, $51 billion
12) Department of Housing and Urban Development, $47 billion
13) Other Defense Civil Programs, $46 billion
Then the relatively smaller stuff ($10 - 25 billion)
14) Department of Justice, $22 billion
15) Department of Energy, $22 billion
16) International Assistance Programs, $16 billion
17) NASA, $16 billion
18) Department of State, $14 billion
19) Other independent Agencies, $13 billion
And the rest:
20) Department of the Interior, $9 billion
21) EPA, $8 billion
22) Corps of Engineers, $7 billion
23) Executive Office of the President, $7 billion
24) Department of Commerce, $6 billion
25) Judicial Branch, $6 billion
26) NSF, $6 billion
27) Railroad Retirement Board, $5 billion
28) Legislative Branch, $4 billion
29) Postal Service, $1.5 billion (note that this is their net loss for the year)
30) Small Business Administration, $1.2 billion
31) GSA $0.4 billion
lastly there are those 2 branches which Make money:
32) FDIC, $-0.9 billion
33) Export-Import Bank, $-1.8 billion
Now, these are all 2006 figures, and though most will be the same next year, there are some cuts for 2007:
$3 billion in agriculture, $8 billion in Military, $23 billion to DHS (33% of the total budget), and others. NASA is looking at a modest rais of $800 million, and NSF will get an additional $70 million.
Now that the facts are out of the way, on to my opinions.
In my opinion there is a huge problem in our federal budget. 1) WAY too much spending in places like the Department of Agriculture, HUD, Education, and Health and Human Services. 2) WAY WAY too little spending by the NSF. 3) International Assistance Program budget should be controlled by the State Department. (Damnit, we have diplomats, we should be using them to give out goodies to other countries.)
The reason, (IMNSHO) that the NSF is traditionally underfunded is because it gives money out for science that isn't "Politically Correct". Its far easier to build more bombers or dump more into Healthcare or FBI Agents than it is to allow funding for Cosmolagical research into the Big Bang, or Stem cell research, or even Cancer research or AIDS research. No one loses a campaign on "We hired 20,000 teachers". But you can on "We funded research into the effects of school prayer on laboratory rats."
anyway....
one more thing: The goverment took in the following in 2005:
Individual Income taxes: $927 billion
Corporate Income Taxes: $278 billion
Social Security Insurance: $217 billion (on budget)
Excise Taxes: $73 billion
Estate Taxes: $25 billion
Customs Duties: $23 billion
Other recipts: $33 billion
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06feb2006
Thats it
Ira
actually, you are right and he distorted your answer. You stated, "images" and he changed it to "names". there's a HUGE issue.
Even more important is intent. If I write a book about a guy who happens to live in a world and practice the craft of war, I'm not infringing on anyone's copyright. Reviews are protected as well, along with opinions. So I can tell everyone what I think of World of Warcraft. How to books, however are not. If I want to publish a how-to on model railroading, that's fine too, as long as I discuss all types, even if I show images of all types including Lionel trains. If I want to publish a how-to only about Lionel toy trains, I had better at least contact Lionel first.
Its not as if Blizzard are truly evil here. The guy is suing Blizzard for getting him yanked off of EBay. I'm sure that if he had gone to Blizzard in the first place and offered them $0.50 per book then we wouldn't be reading this. But, no, he rushes to sue. sue sue sue.
Ira
I think the issue in this case is very simple. Since Ebay representatives reviewed the patents, then infringed upon them, they should pay the damages. Now, obviously, Ebay should not be run out of business, nor forced to shut down, even temporarily. But, as is true with most litigation, its already been 3 years since the judge ruled that Ebay should pay up and they haven't, so an injunction in this case is warrented.
Basically, this guys business got trampled. It was probably dead anyway, and he's not the smartest guy in the world, nor the best business man. After all, it took him 5 years from having the idea to getting it up in the first case, and once up, it bombed like so many other dot com companies. So, the relatively minor $30+ million reward makes some sense. It would barely cover the cost of the lawyers (who are undoubtably taking a percentage) and might pay off his venture capitalists. He'll walk away with nothing regardless (except maybe a slightly better credit rating).
I think that Ebay could have offered him $5 million for the patents in 2000 and he'd have been much better off. (which, according to the article, was exactly what he wanted to do....) I think that in this case, some lawyer said to the EBay management, "Its cheaper to bury this guy than pay him off...." And THAT's a bad thing.
Ira
especially since a good portion of actual R&D is going on in our nations universities and university hospitals. In those cases, the drug company provides grants to college graduate students in BIO chemistry departments (and piddly grants too, $4 and 5 million dollars, which is HUGE money to a graduate school). Then these students (who are often making minimum wage level "stipends") come up with the drugs which are then handed back to the drug company to profit on. So the order is:
1) Take profits from last drug.
2) Give 0.01% of profit to create next drug spread among several university research departments.
3) Spend 1% of profit from last drug to convince hospitals to perform various drug trials.
4) spend 10% of profit from last drug to get FDA approval for the new drug
5) spend 50% of profit to market new drug
6) PROFIT!!!!!!
(note the absence of the obligitory ???? since there's no mystery involved)
Ira
IIRC, the term trimester is not a legal term, but a medical term. at least that was implied by the doctors who handled my WIFE*'s several pregnancies**.
Ira
* for those of you don't understand this term, it refers to a female partner withwhom you have signed a life-long contract (known as Marriage), not to be confused with other life-long contracts, like purchasing a cat, or using a Macintosh.
** pregnancies sometimes occur when a man has unprotected sex with a woman. This sex, while lots of fun, also can produce little baby geeks for the next version of Slashdot.
The problem here is that small IP holders are already frozen out due to he difficulties of navigating the patent system. what we have left are battles between Patent holding companies and Software manufacturers.
Its not like I can run down to the local patent office and patent my idea for a new web-based e-commerce ui design and then start suing people left and right. I can't because it would be 2 years before I can get my idea patented and 5 min before its invalidated because I didn't hire the team of lawyers to carefully craft the patent paperwork to include things I didn't think of but are similar to the things I did. If instead, I had $5 million and a crusty old Wang developer to sign on I could then do whatever I wanted.....
Ira
I'll bet if I have one of these things I can finally pwn people when I duel them in the common are of Ironforge. :)
Ira
Ira
that's the whole point. the rest is revisionist history.
they didn't need a stable economy to launch nuclear weapons at me. all they needed was a stable military infrastructure. which they still had in 1981, and in 1989. But not in 1991 or 1999.
see his autobiography Grumbles from the Grave (the one published just after his death.
You are saying that these are linked? Sorry, but I'm going to need, if not proof, at least some rationale for why you think that the fall of the soviet union has anything to do with islamic fundamentalism.
Again, revisionist history. It was a joke to some, but not others. In many ways it was a huge intelligence coup. Reports of SDI successes were way overblown and leaked to various KGB sources which made the Kremlin think that it was viable, when some of the ideas for it were pretty ludicrous at best. One of my favorites was Edward Teller's plan of putting crystals on the outside of ICBM's then exploding them in space so that the bomb pumped lasers would incinerate the incoming ICBM's before they could reach their targets. Nevermind that it would involve thermonuclear bombs being exploded over the US.
You, of course, are an ass. Our economy is not bolstered by any of these. in many ways, these hinder our economy. Our economy is based on peace, industry, and commerce. If the US were to pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq
wow. that is screwed up. in the US, child support is based on a mans ability to pay. Which is why Barry Bonds pays more child support than Blarney Baodins who works down at the plant. And those payments don't change unless the man's income changes. In some ways that's just as screwed up. but it happens. And as far as the courts. well, that's based on the court. some courts are good, some bad. some fair, some crooked. but in general, US courts look very unkindly on people who ignore court orders. (re: will haul your ass in and throw you in jail).
Ira
that being said:
Well, you are wrong. child support should really be called "family support". Its money being used to support a mans former family. that includes the ex-wife. Mostly its that part that pisses men off the most. I would bet that that is the exact reason that his ex-wife does it the way she does. The key is to simply ignore it. Or call CPS. or both.as far as this nebulous "provide access to the child" the answer is, get scheduled visitation. Then, if she skips one, haul her ass into court. Having been on the other side of the fence (my wife's ex had visitation that was court ordered w/ child support that was NEVER paid, but we had to allow visitation anyway) I know that neither side enjoys it. The key is to stop the anger and hatred, as it is the most damaging thing to the kids.
Ira
well, I'm only 3 years older than you, at 14, in 1981, I saw the Soviet Union as a threat.
As to whether this was a failing of intelligence departments or maliciousness, I don't think it was either. Even if we had concrete evidence of it, NO ONE would have believed it. Sure, we knew about the bread lines and the like, and many (including guys like Robert Heinlein) knew that their economy wasn't sustainable, the general public felt that they were STILL a political threat. I think that the trigger for unfolding of that threat was neither SDI nor military buildup, but the Cherynobyl. Cherynobyl exposed the underlying weakness in their economic structure in a way that couldn't be papered over with Soviet propoganda.
I do agree that SDI and the military buildup accelerated things and I feel, to this day that that was a VERY GOOD THING. The chaos in the region we have today, and have had over the last 15 years is a small price for bringing down 75 years of communism. There's no way the Soviet Union break-up wouldn't cause chaos. the only question was whether someone would be desparate enough or stupid enough over there to start launching nukes at us. By convincing them that pretty soon launching nukes would do no good, we chopped 20 years off their ability to get their economy under control. In fact, I'd say without SDI and Reagan we'd still be talking about the Soviet Union in the present tense instead of the past tense. After all, the Sovent economy was shot in the 60's , and in the 40's, and in the 30's. The Soviet economy NEVER really worked. but it was bolstered by a) conquest and b) ruthlessness, and c) fear. When these three went away (no where left to conquer, Gorbachev really not that ruthless, and countries starting not to fear a country that couldn't even take over Afghanistan), collapse occured.
As I said earlier. Do I think that the USSR was running a healthy sustainable economy. No. but neither were they doing that in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. The difference was that they weren't spending 30% of their GDP on military spending.
Ira
on the last part. Never confuse fascism with outright incompetence.
Ira
Is the kid fed? is the kid housed? is the kid clothed and loved and get toys and the like as if it were in his home? is the kid abused in any way? If not, then what she happens to do with the money sent is really not his business. If he wasn't sending checks does that mean that the mother would drop the kid off with her parents to go see her new boyfriend? maybe she'd do it anyway and stop feeding the kid. Maybe this guy should communicate with his ex and have her drop the kid off at his place on weekends. (that is, if that's what he wants). Maybe he should go to court and ask for custody, or joint custody, or a reduction in payments.
The problem is that these stories are almost unilaterally false or at best hyperbole. If she knew she was getting a check each week then she wouldn't need to go to a travel agent after receiving a check. Also, child support checks arrive Monthly, and not weekly.
But hey, this is really straying from the point....
Ira
They are? where?
They're coming for muslims, but muslims are still citizens. Mosques are still houses of worship, and just as protected as Churches and Synogogues.
They're coming for the homosexuals, too. I think the worse curse for homosexual people would be for them to get married, but hey, if thats what they want, no government will stop them.
They're coming for abortion providers? ok....... I haven't heard about abortion clinics being raided by the police..... have you?
They're coming for environmentalists? (um.... no. oh, and spiking trees is terrorism, as loggers get maimed even when trees aren't spiked. making their lives more dangerous is truly unnecessary)
They're coming for leftist protesters? not that I've seen.
They are wiretapping private citizen's domestic telephone conversations. ok. fine. no, its not really fine. but unless they do something with the wiretapped conversations, so what? Are they going to come arrest me if I say, "Bush is a pig!!!!!" no. Are they going to arrest me if I say, "I've just put a bomb in the whitehouse!!!!" no. but they might check the whitehouse for bombs just in case. And its not like the NSA hasn't been listening in on domestic Telephone conversations ever since Ma Bell was a virgin.
They are restricting your right to free speech? how? If so, how come Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon haven't been imprisoned? How about Michael Moore? How about any number of celebreties who have publically bashed the current administration? What free speech is being restricted? RIAA? ok, I'll buy that one. but that's not a political problem, its an economic one, and if you think Clinton or Gore would stand up to the RIAA, you are truly joking.
They are rigging elections. There. There it is. 6 years have gone by and you still can't get it through your head that GORE LOST! he lost Florida. maybe he lost because a bunch of old people couldn't read a ballot or because of some dangling chads, or for some other reason but he LOST! Done! over! you had your chance to correct the problem in 2004 and GORE LOST AGAIN! So get over it. You don't like it, leave, or volunteer in your local district to be part of the voting process. Hell, run for office if you feel strongly about it.
Soon enough, they'll come for you, if you ever open your eyes. Keep em shut, agree with everything you're told to think, and you'll be "safe." Me, I'm safe. I've never contemplated the violent overthrow of the US Government (no mater who was in power). I've voted for independents, republicans, once for Mickey Mouse, (though that might have been on the state level). I've got a job, wife, house, kids, cars, and all that. I'm not gay, have never had an abortion (being male) nor forced another to (though I had one ex-girlfriend threaten me once, turns out she hadn't been pregnant). I've never done hard drugs, nor committed any crime beyond a traffic ticket. I'm safe, just like so many other people. I didn't have to work to be this way. I didn't have to hide a portion of my personality or my sexuality, or my political preference, or anything. I'm safe.
But I'm not blind either. You say they're coming, but I know they aren't. They aren't coming for the muslims, they aren't coming for the homosexuals, or the abortion providers, or the environmentalists, or leftist protestors or anyone else. They're coming for terrorists. If you aren't a terrorst, meaning you don't wish to cause others to fear you and die by your hand, then you too are safe. If they wiretapped my phone, they would hear a whole lot of boring conversations. Then they'd stop listening because they would realize that I'm not a threat. I would say that for every person with a slashdot account, this would be true as well. Except that one guy who's reading slashdot for the purposes of creating a biological agent that's spread at Gencon. or something stupid like that. Do I hate having to wait longer at airports to fly? sure, so does everyone else. I especially hated it when the "new" security measures were still under development and things were slow.
No indeed, they aren't coming. They are here. trying to keep your lousy ass safe. And they aren't going away.
Ira
As far as Dead beat dads go. Hang 'em. Hang 'em up by their testicals.
No, I'm not talking about those guys who have been screwed by the system (wife ran off with kids, refused to let them speak with them and demanded unreasonable support despite getting re-married to a millionaire.) I'm talking about the guy who runs out on his wife and kids, gets remarried, and decided that either 1) he has moved on and won't give his old wife and kids the time of day or penny one 2) He won't give his ex-wife any money unless he is absolutely sure that every penny goes to the kids.
There's a larger issue involving the various states family courts. Family courts are so screwed up that there's no fixing them. Corruption, Graft, bribery, incompetence, overwork, apathy, religious zeal, etc. The best solution is to not have kids unless you know the mind of the person you are having kids with. (not that that will work either).
Ira